Organ Transplantation Ethics

Consult the Tong book Case Study #3, page 313 and review the readings before beginning the discussion on the case presented.

In 1991, Governor Robert Casey of Pennsylvania suffered a heart attack. He also suffered from amyloidosis, a hereditary heart disease that causes the liver to produce a protein that weakens other organs. By 1993, Governor Casey was placed on a waiting list for a heart and liver transplant. He received both in less than a day, even though the average wait time for other donor patients was 67 days for a liver and 198 days for a heart. Governor Casey’s selection for transplant bypassed eight other candidates ahead of him who required either a heart or a liver.

In your discussion post, please respond to the following:

Should someone needing two transplants take priority over someone needing only one?
Should priority be given to public officials? What about celebrities? What about the Spring 2012 heart transplant former vice-president Dick Cheney received?
Does the likelihood of a favorable medical outcome affect the moral rightness or wrongness of such a selection practice?
Remember to cite your sources appropriately, using APA f

Organ Transplantation Ethics

Consult the Tong book Case Study #3, page 313 and review the readings before beginning the discussion on the case presented.

In 1991, Governor Robert Casey of Pennsylvania suffered a heart attack. He also suffered from amyloidosis, a hereditary heart disease that causes the liver to produce a protein that weakens other organs. By 1993, Governor Casey was placed on a waiting list for a heart and liver transplant. He received both in less than a day, even though the average wait time for other donor patients was 67 days for a liver and 198 days for a heart. Governor Casey’s selection for transplant bypassed eight other candidates ahead of him who required either a heart or a liver.

In your discussion post, please respond to the following:

Should someone needing two transplants take priority over someone needing only one?
Should priority be given to public officials? What about celebrities? What about the Spring 2012 heart transplant former vice-president Dick Cheney received?
Does the likelihood of a favorable medical outcome affect the moral rightness or wrongness of such a selection practice?
Remember to cite your sources appropriately, using APA f