The Ethics of Global Organ Acquisition: Moral Arguments about Transplantation

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As the demand for organs continues to outstrip availability and waiting lists surge, the pressure to make morally questionable, unethical decisions becomes more likely and trust in transplant medicine starts to erode. Medical ethics expert and former health professional, Trevor Stammers, analyses the complex ethical web that constitutes the worldwide exchange of organs and tissues. Key philosophical questions concerning existence, consciousness, the nature of death and the right to life connect organ donation and transplantation to real-life case studies exploring difficulties with the 'dead donor rule' for deceased donation, organ donation euthanasia, xenotransplantation and the creation of organoids and 'organs-on-chips', alongside examples of human trafficking and systematic state murder to provide organs. Controversial cases from Japan, Germany, USA and Singapore are examined alongside the Spanish, Welsh, and Chilean experience of deceased donation opt-out schemes to highlight the variety of threats and challenges to public trust in transplant medicine. Charting these examples provides valuable material for debates and discussions in the philosophy of medicine and medical ethics more generally. Stammers suggests viable alternatives to current ethical failings by focusing on the moral arguments that define public trust, moving the debate on transplant ethics in vital new directions.

Reviews

Professor Stammers provides an impressively comprehensive and in-depth account of a wide range of ethical issues in organ transplantation at individual, institutional, societal and global levels. This book sounds important warnings and is essential reading for anyone considering the ethics and law of organ transplantation, indeed, for everyone in Bioethics. * Margaret Somerville, Professor of Bioethics, University of Notre Dame, Australia *
This book provides a much-needed ethics update on recent developments and emerging approaches in global organ acquisition and transplantation. Trevor Stammers is an experienced doctor and prominent ethicist whose extensive teaching experience presents in a clear manner a treasure trove of information for patients and families, students, scholars, clinicians, and policymakers. * Gerard Magill, PhD Gallagher Chair & Professor Center for Global Health Ethics, Duquesne University, USA *
Bringing the debate about the ethics of organ donation and sale up to date, to include the effects of the Covid pandemic, Trevor Stammers provides a wide-ranging and well-balanced discussion of these crucial issues. Throughout this book the emphasis is on public trust and real-life cases, handled with sensitivity and careful analysis. * Donna Dickenson, Emeritus Professor of Medical Ethics and Humanities, University of London, UK *

Author Bio

Trevor Stammers is former Associate Professor of Bioethics and Director of the Centre for Bioethics and Emerging Technologies at St Marys University, UK. He previously worked as a clinician for over 30 years.