Organ Donation

Should new medical technologies raise new ethical questions? This is a question that many people often wonder about, however some believe that there is in fact no new questions in medical ethics. It seems that each time a new form of technological advance is introduced many questions come to rise. Whether it relates to the well being of a person, or if this new technology is indeed morally right, the questions are still there. If you take a look at each time a medical advance in technology is discovered the same questions reoccur over and over with new question rarely arising.

One example of a medical advance that stands out is that of organ donation. When organ donation became largely used around the world many people were loaded with questions. Who decides whether or not to donate one’s organs?, What happens in the case of an accident, who is to make a call whether or not organ donation should be used?, Is it morally right to donate organ?. These are many questions that people have, yet the answer seems to be different depending on one’s view. Many people argue the case that organ donation should be somewhat standard, given the condition of the organs, as saving one life is better than saving none. In the same retrospect they argue that people should have the choice as to whether or not they donate their organs after they die, but as you can see it seems their questions are never directly answered.

When it comes to looking at the choice of life support for a person who is ill, the same questions as the ones used in the organ donation example about are asked. It seems that no new questions with regard to organ donation ever come to rise, just an alternate form of the questions that are stated above. The most commonly asked question with this medical advance seems to be that of whether or not the person on life support should have a say as to whether or not they want to be kept alive by a machine, and Is it morally wrong to keep one alive on a machine when