Organ Transplantation Case Summary

Organ transplantation carries with it many complex concerns for patients, potential donors and their families, as well as healthcare providers. These concerns encompass the realms of morals, questions of ethics, and matters of practicality. According to the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) as of September 19, 2016, there are more than 119,845 people waiting for an organ. Of that number, 77,161 are on the active waiting list, and there have been 10,482 organ donors as of the end of August 2016 (Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network website, 2016). Clearly the number of patients waiting for an organ greatly outnumbers the number of donors. Because demand so dramatically outweighs supply, the difficult task of deciding who will be placed on the waiting list, maintaining the list, and matching who on that list will receive an organ once a suitable organ is available falls to the United Network for Organ Sharing (Butts & Rich, 2016, p. 232). As a member of the healthcare profession, it is important for nurses to be familiar with the ethical questions involved in organ and tissue transplantation.
One patient, Mr. Mann is a 50-year-old man who is suffering from End Stage Liver Disease (ESLD) due to alcoholic cirrhosis, his prognosis is terminal without a transplant. Mr. Mann will not commit to long-term sobriety, he is unemployed, and is without family and social support. The other patient, Ms. Bay is 37; she has been diagnosed with ESLD due to active, chronic Hepatitis C. Ms. Bay has a family and is active in the community and is currently ahead of Mr. Mann on the transplant list. This case study asks the reader to make a determination of which patient should receive a liver (2016, p. 443-444). Per OPTN, the factors involved in matching a patient with a donor organ are to