Background

Ethics of Organ Transplantation

In this course, Dr Greg Moorlock (University of Warwick) explores the ethics of organ transplantation. In the first module, we (i) introduce the terms of transplantation, organ failure, and the state of the art as it stands; before (ii) discussing how we obtain organs that are suitable for donation into other individuals, and potential governmental systems that can maximise the number of organs available in an ethical manner; and then (iii) introducing nuance into the definition of death, such as brain stem death and circulatory death, as well as the term irreversibility; before (iv) discussing the decisions made during organ allocation, and the outcomes that are generally considered pertinent and ‘out-of-bounds’; and then finally (v) introduce conditional donation.

Background

In the first mini-lecture, we introduce organ transplantation in the context of its ethics. Organ failure is a dramatic biological event that can take place in your lifetime, but modern medicine by way of transplantation has been able to alleviate some of its effects on the quantity and quality of your life. We discuss the current state of organ transplantation in the UK, as well as define the terms ‘living donor’ and ‘dead donor’. To finish off this mini-lecture, we begin to talk about the nuance of donation as a living or dead donor.