Making ethical decision requires careful analysis and evaluation of each individual aspect associated with the case and selecting choices that are consistent with ethical principles. Moreover, it is very important to eliminate those options that are likely to yield further dire consequences and obstacles. In the case study “Corneas in the Congo”, because of a peculiar parasite in the water that destroys cornea of the eye, ten people in the camp have gone blind, and half of them are children. Upon contacting Doctors Without Borders, they informed that they could give cornea transplants for the people who have gone blind, but it was impossible to get corneas for transplant in Africa. The area director of Doctors Without Borders calls and tells …show more content…
While evaluating this obligation, two important parties I should consider are criminals and patients. Am I going to harm the criminals by accepting/not accepting the corneas? Am I going to harm my patients by accepting/not accepting the corneas? By accepting the corneas, I might be harming the criminals, as my acceptance will motivate the corrupt prison wardens to execute more and more criminals for corneas. However, my non-acceptance will not stop the execution of criminals. There are also too many people who are in need of corneas. On the other hand, with the assumption that corneas are healthy and can be used, by not accepting the corneas, I might be harming my patients. They are the ones who are in need of corneas, and those corneas from criminals are the only options available to get their vision back. Analyzing both situations, I am obligated to accept the corneas because my ethical obligation is towards my patients not toward criminals in China.
The third responsibility as the head of the agency is to do well to all of the refugees and mainly contribute to focus on getting the vision back of those patients who have gone blind i.e. beneficence. Lastly, I have the duty for self-improvement: the obligation to better oneself. Will I be able to preserve my personal dignity by accepting the corneas or by not accepting them? The answer is by accepting it because there are blind bodies that have
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Now, it’s time to make a decision so that we can select the course of action for our ethical question, i.e. shall I (as the head of a small aid agency) accept the corneas from Chinese aid agency to get the vision back for those ten people who have gone blind?
According to the theory of utilitarianism, an ethical decision is that which brings more happiness than harm. Moreover, out of 10 common-sense moral principles obligation, my primary obligation is to do good deeds for those refugees who are in my camp. It is obvious that non-acceptance of corneas will not stop the unethical practices and execution of criminals for livers and corneas, and it is evident that accepting the corneas will give the vision back to those people who have lost their site as well as improving their quality of life.
It is important to understand that ethics is not equal to personal emotions. Therefore, ethical decision making should be void of personal feelings. Moreover, an ethical action is that which protects and respect the moral perspectives of those affected. Indeed, ethical approaches help to determine the standards of behavior that constitute a common good for the human
In looking at this decision-making dilemma that is focus on the mission of getting emergency supplies into worn torn areas the best option is to thoroughly analyze the situation and follow a Judeo-Christian ethics approach. Following Rushworth M. Kidder model for making the best ethical decision’s in media ethics the relevant facts are in a 3rd world country that’s currently in a civil war, supplied trucks are routinely stopped and drivers are intimated or killed by other civilian’s who steal the food to feed their families or villages, and the drivers believe that the situation Elbonian Relief project puts them in that drivers feel they have to be able to meet “financial Demands” from the armed looters to be able to pass by in
All aspects of health care face the inevitability of moral and ethical issues arising on numerous fronts. The organ donation and transplantation field of medicine is no exception. Each day, approximately 18 people die waiting for an organ to become available for transplant (Taranto, 2010). In the grand scheme of things this may not seem a significant number; however, the fact that over 6,500 individuals with families, friends, and an otherwise productive life will die needlessly every year is obviously a far cry from acceptable. This particular lack
Therefore, we conclude that we won’t accept the corneas. It is invalid based on the utilitarian perspective in which the benefits are overweighed by the costs.
One of the most agonizing decisions a medical professional can make comes when viable internal organs become available for transplant, because the current system of transplant lists often necessitates a time-sensitive evaluation of several candidates to determine who should receive the desperately needed operation. The ethical dilemma presented by the activity You Decide, in which three individuals coming from vastly different circumstances are eligible to receive a heart transplant, represents an all too common situation within the medical profession, and despite the intense emotional stakes involved, the most effective and efficient decision making process is one based on careful consideration of the ethical ramifications involved. Due to the enormous pressure involved in the transplantation of vital organs, a process which must be undertaken with immediacy, medical professionals often rely on the predetermined structural boundaries of respected philosophical tenets. The utilitarian ethical philosophy advanced by the work of Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill, each of whom argued that deciding the most morally acceptable course of action required the clinical application of logical reasoning, is epitomized by Bentham's famous axiom that "it is the greatest happiness of the greatest number that is the measure of right and wrong" (1776). By applying the fundamental precepts of Bentham and Mill's concept of utilitarianism to this morally sensitive medical dilemma, it is
In today’s medical field there is a profuse amount of room for ethical questioning concerning any procedure performed by a medical professional. According to the book Law & Ethics for Medical Careers, by Karen Judson and Carlene Harrison, ethics is defined as the standards of behavior, developed as a result of one’s concept of right and wrong (Judson, & Harrison, 2010). With that in mind, organ transplants for inmates has become a subject in which many people are asking questions as to whether it is morally right or wrong.
The allocation of scarce resources is an ongoing issue in healthcare today. The scarcity of many specific interventions include beds in the intensive care unit, donor organs, and vaccines during a pandemic influenza are widely acknowledged as an extensive issue in healthcare ethics. The allocation of scarce resources is the determination of how to equally and fairly use scarce medical resources available in a healthcare environment. This paper will focus on donor organs for transplantation and the ethical dilemmas associated with donation/transplantation. Organ shortage is the greatest challenge facing the field of organ transplantation in today’s world (Saidi, R., & Kenan, S., 2014). Ethical principles and regulation requirements often overlap.
At this point, a better means to explain the transplant case is required, and for that, preferably we will only use the fundamental tenets associated to utilitarianism. One of the major solutions for this case will be simply ignoring the intuitive answers and to assert that an operation for transplant will indeed be a moral
Dr. Ethos, the chief resident of a hospital is faced with a dilemma. He needs to figure out what to do in the following scenario. A mean, cranky old man walks into the hospital. The old man is complaining about a painful toothache and through his relentless complaining, he is seen by Dr. Ethos. In the middle of the old man’s examination, the doctor is immediately paged to different room. In that room, there are ten young men and woman, between the ages of 15 and 35; they desperately need different organs to be able to survive. These ten patients specifically come to see Dr. Ethos because he is the best organ transplant surgeon in the planet and the immediately need transplants, or the will die. Dr. Ethos is aware that the old man is a perfect match to be the organ donor for the ten patients. Using the old man’s organs could save them. Likewise, given the crowded state of the hospital, the fact that he was already about operate on the old man, as well as the good Doctor’s status as the prime transplant surgeon, Dr. Ethos knows that the procedure could go off without a problem. However, the cranky old man would have to die, or rather be killed, in order to successfully treat all the patients. The question is, what would Dr. Ethos do, if he were Utilitarian (Act vs. Rule)? What would Dr. Ethos do, if he were a Deontologist (Kantian)?
To conclude the exploration of this ethical dilemma, a decision and brief summary will be
The aim of this paper are to explore the ethical issues and dilemmas that occur in each of the above mentioned sections of organ transplantation and the four ethical principles guide the ethical decision making and discuss how these ethical issue might effect on the nursing
The medical science of organ transplantation has opened the gates of salvation for many human bodies. For the pure-intentioned, organs are a renewable resource that should be passed from one person to another when needed. In this manner, lifespans can be extended ethically and without excessive tragedy. Unfortunately, there are organizations and even nations that exploit the science of organ harvesting for profit. Before entering that debate, however, I would like to set the stage for my research paper by providing an overview of the topic I intend to cover.
This ethical dilemma is used to illustrate the point that although we may be concerned with our own well being, for instance wanting to kill the sick or healthy patient to harvest the organs, sometimes that isn’t the answer. We must sometimes put the needs of other’s above our own to reach the most Utilitarian
are looking for the ethical answer, we must accept the solution that is ethical and not
into account my own ethical principles when basing my decision on this ethical dilemma. Despite the
Bioethics is a multidisciplinary field of study which is a combination of nursing, health policy, theology, history, philosophy, the law of medicine and the medical humanities. It is important for the physicians and nurses to consider various relevant issues from a multiple point of view while dealing with the patients since the health care system is so complex. The aim of bioethics is to investigate and study how decisions are made in a healthcare facility. It mainly aims at ensuring that the medical procedures and practices benefit the society as a whole. This study aims at analyzing the bioethics issue that the nurses or a health care facility is faced with in a case that a patient requires an organ donation (Wöhlke, Wiesemann, Schicktanz, & Carmi, 2012).