What are the ethical issues involved in organ transplants?

What are the ethical issues involved in organ transplants?

Major ethical concerns about organ donation by living related donors focus on the possibility of undue influence and emotional pressure and coercion. By contrast, the living unrelated donor lacks genetic ties to the recipient. Living unrelated donors respond to a need that may come to their attention in various ways.

Which ethical principle is the focus of the organ transplant placement process?

Utility, justice, and respect for persons are three foundational ethical principles that create a framework for the equitable allocation of scarce organs for transplantation.

Which is the most difficult transplant operation?

The person receiving the transplant must be ill enough to need the transplant but well enough to recover from the surgery. Whole liver transplant, or orthotopic transplantation, is a major surgery and technically challenging—especially in people with portal hypertension of which cirrhosis is a common cause.

Why do transplanted organs not last?

While transplanted organs can last the rest of your life, many don’t. Some of the reasons may be beyond your control: low-grade inflammation from the transplant could wear on the organ, or a persisting disease or condition could do to the new organ what it did to the previous one.

Can a brain be kept alive outside the body?

An isolated brain is a brain kept alive in vitro, either by perfusion or by a blood substitute, often an oxygenated solution of various salts, or by submerging the brain in oxygenated artificial cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).

Can a brain be revived?

A person who’s brain dead is legally confirmed as dead. They have no chance of recovery because their body is unable to survive without artificial life support.

Do human brains shrink with age?

The brain shrinks with increasing age and there are changes at all levels from molecules to morphology. Incidence of stroke, white matter lesions, and dementia also rise with age, as does level of memory impairment and there are changes in levels of neurotransmitters and hormones.

Does the human brain age?

As we enter midlife, our brains change in subtle but measurable ways. The overall volume of the brain begins to shrink when we’re in our 30s or 40s, with the rate of shrinkage increasing around age 60. But, the volume loss isn’t uniform throughout the brain — some areas shrink more, and faster, than other areas.