This Blog considers assisted suicide/euthanasia, bioethics, human cloning, biotechnology, radical environmentalism, and the dangers of animal rights/liberation. My views expressed here, as in my books and other writings, reflect my understanding that the philosophy of human exceptionalism is the bedrock of universal human rights. Or, to put it another way: human life matters. (The opinions expressed here are my own and not necessarily those of any organization with which I am affiliated.)
It appears that wealthy people who need organ transplants are able to be placed on the waiting list for several organ programs at once. Such gaming undermines a system that is supposed to be based strictly on triage principles. (Hat tip Secondhand Smoke reader "Deep Toad.")
posted by Wesley J. Smith @ 7:59 AM
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I am a Senior Fellow in Human Rights and Bioethics at the Discovery Institute and the author of 12 books, including A Rat Is A Pig Is A Dog Is A Boy, which is relevant to the issues considered by this blog.
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1 Comments:
Mr. Smith,
Again you disappoint the informed reader by employing sensationalism and misdirecting the truth.
Yes, the national policies on organ donation and transplantation allow potential recipients to list at as many transplant centers as they chose. This is not available only to wealthy individuals, but to everyone. However, upon closer inspection it's revealed that this is essentially a waste of time and money.
Being listed for transplant is not a one-step-and-your-done process. Being listed requires frequent checkups with the transplant center and also involves regular laboratory tests and in-depth evaluations to assess health status. To be multiply listed would involve undergoing the same tests at each transplant center at regular intervals.
Most multiply-listed candidates choose hospitals in close geographic proximity because it simply doesn't make sense to chose far flung transplant centers (as patients have to be near the hospital where their transplant will take place should they get "the call" that an organ is available). In most cases this means that the organ offers they receive at each transplant center will come from the same pool of donors.
Organs are allocated based on 3 criteria: matching (i.e. blood type), severity of illness, and length of time waiting. The US system of organ allocation is designed to be as fair and as equitable as possible (and in doing so NOT to allow any unfair advantage to the wealthy). What patients who list at multiple transplant centers don't realize is that their name often appears on the same list in immediate sequence. Once one transplant center turns down an organ offer for the patient, the second transplant center does as well.
These patients gain no advantage in being multiply listed and simply waste money on doing so.
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