In: Nursing
Scenario #3 "What do you mean, you don't know who he is?" asked Dr. Bridewell, the head of the Oakbrook Hospital Renal Unit. ?He was unconscious when the police brought him to the ER. We started the IV, stopped his bleeding and patched him up. But he still hasn?t recovered consciousness. The police think it was a hit and run driver.? Dr. Kathy Mc Dowel spoke in a precise, matter of fact voice. Dr. Bridewell always frightened her, but she was determined not to show it. ?He didn?t have any identification?? ?No. They think somebody came along and robbed him. He was wearing jeans and a sweatshirt, nothing that gives any clue as to his background. Both of his kidneys were hopelessly damaged. But his general physical condition is good, and we think he?s a good candidate for a transplant.? ?You know we?ve got someone declared brain dead.? ?Yes, and we?ve done an HLA match.? ?We?re going to have only one kidney to transplant because the other one is shot. But I?ve got a candidate, too, so we have to decide which patient get the kidney.? ?Who?s the other candidate?? A Mrs. Benson. She?s a woman in her early sixties who?s on the school board. Her husband?s a rich lawyer, and both of them move in high social circles. She does a lot of work now with a foundation that helps minority children in school. She also happens to be a good candidate physically for a transplant.? ?So you?ll choose her over my patient?? Dr. McDowell felt herself getting angry. ?I didn?t say that. How old is this guy?? ?Early or middle thirties. He?s in good physical condition.? ?But we don?t know anything about him,? said Dr. Bridewell. ?He might just be a drifter passing through town. He?s probably not a member of the community this hospital is supposed to serve, the one that pays bills and makes donations.? ?Not that we know of,? Dr. Mc Dowell admitted. ?But we don?t know for sure, do we?? said Dr. Bridewell. Who gets the kidney? Two people need it. There is only one. Should there be a consideration of the worth of each potential recipient and their contributions to society? Would such considerations be morally correct? How would someone respond to this question using the ethical principles of:NATURAL LAW THEORIST?
The ethical delimma in this case is that among two patients who should recieve the kidney . In organ transplant, consideration of the worth of each potential recipient and their contributions to society is not considered . Transplant is provided to those who require it ,who is in need of it ,who will get advantage of it and live his or her rest life without any related health issues.
Natural law is a theory in ethics and philosophy that says that human beings possess intrinsic values that govern our reasoning and behavior. Natural law maintains that these rules of right and wrong are inherent in people and are not created by society or court judges.
According to me , based on the ethical principles of justice , both have equal right of getting transplant but who require the most is the question here which will sort the dilemma. In thos case the boy who is in his thirties has the priority to recieve the kidney as he has more chances of survival and less risk of complications associated to transplant than the lady who is in her sixities. It's just like the triage system in the emergency department .