Organ donation has become a hot topic on Me Fi lately. Unfortunately, this thread has not spawned the best discussion. But the ethics of organ tansplantation can become difficult. Do donors have the right to specify who gets their organs? If they do, what does that imply for living donors; in other words, are you really volunteering to donate that kidney to your brother? And should we have an opt-in or opt-out system? Most religions approve of organ donation; even Jehovah's Witnesses that do not accept blood transfusions. And of course, the US government is involved, for better or worse. Not everyone thinks organ donation is good. More links here and here.
posted by TedW on Feb 23, 2003 - 42 comments

Unmitigated gall. The illegal aliens who got two hearts and two lungs for their daughter REFUSED to have any of her organs donated when it was clear she was brain-dead...
posted by MattD on Feb 22, 2003 - 240 comments

Would you still donate your loved one’s body if, instead of saving a life, parts were sold for profit, for cosmetic purposes? A Boston Herald story says the Massachusetts Medical Examiner's Office supplies a company with information about the freshly dead that lets company reps pitch grieving relatives for donations. Because of decomposition, sometimes those calls are the first news the relatives have of the death, the story says. Among other end uses: breast, lip and penis enlargements. Has the halo around organ donation blurred ethical questions around other uses for dead people?
posted by sacre_bleu on May 20, 2002 - 21 comments

Convict Heart Transplant A 31 year old 2 time felon just got a heart transplant, costing tax payers close to $1 million dollars. With an annual additional cost of $15,000. Right? Wrong? I'm not so sure.
posted by SuzySmith on Jan 30, 2002 - 15 comments