The field of transplant ethics is a specialty within the practice of clinical ethics. The goals of transplant ethics are to promote the integrity of transplant medicine, and the welfare of living donors and organ recipients. Because organs are very scarce and a precious gift, transplant ethics aims for organ allocation to those with the capacity to benefit from it.
There are many ethical dilemmas and complex situations that can arise during transplant and organ donation. Examples of transplant dilemmas include the following:
Ethics assessment of fulminant patients;
Transplantation for those who are uninsured or underinsured;
Assessment of patients expressing ambivalence about pursuing transplant;
Assessment of patients with compliance problems;
Ethics assessments of living donor candidates;
Ethics assessments for candidates with mental health issues;
Re-transplantation cases;
Policy matters such as organ tourism, solicitation of living donors, prisoners & parolees, and extended criteria organs (e.g., organs from older donors);
Assessment of patients considering permanent or bridge use of ventricular assist devices;
Assessment of hand and face transplant candidates & VCA living donor candidates
Asking for help:This web site is educational and intended to inform patients, donors, and families about some of the key issues in transplantation and living donation. If you are a patient, potential organ donor, someone who has donated, or a caregiver and you need ethics advice, please request an ethics consult from your hospital ethicist. If you have been a live donor or are a potential donor, you can also seek guidance from the Donor Advocate at your transplant center. In the USA, the availabilty of a Donor Advocate/Donor Advocate Team is a Federal requirement for all transplant centers.
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This is Professor Bramstedt's personal web site and the views expressed are her own. The site is not sponsored or supported by Bond University, Roche, or her clients. The purpose of this web site is educational. Professor Bramstedt will NOT provide medical advice to anyone. You should consult a health care provider in all matters relating to your health, and particularly with respect to any symptoms that may require diagnosis or medical attention. Any action on your part in response to the information provided in this web site is at the reader's discretion. Readers should consult their own health care provider concerning the information on this web site.Polls on this website are opinion polls, NOT research studies. IMAGES ON THIS WEBSITE: Life Preserver - Pixabay CCO. Australian Organ Donor Card -- Katrina Bramstedt 2012 CCO. All others: no copyright infringement intended.
