Lucis Spei wrote:
Aside from the debate on where the line between "not infringing the rights of the religious" and "catering to the religious," which I think such a situation would cross, I think it's a fairly safe bet that if you subscribe to a religion that prohibits the donation of your organs, you won't be okay with someone donating their organs to you.
I have had a little schmeck at this. Because often people are selfish. And if the doctor tells them that a liver transplant is the only way to cure their cirrhosis, I highly doubt they're going to say that they'll choose to die rather than get a transplant. In most cases, religious belief flies out the window when your life is at stake. But it's much easier to say that you cannot donate organs to give other people life, because it goes against your religion.
I'm sure most people would probably use that as an excuse to hide their uneasiness about carving up their corpse.... but I do happen to think that there are people who truly believe that it's against their beliefs to donate. It's just that when you're life is threatened by an lethal organ failure or abnormality, it's not something that you consider.
If I have to say that there's one reason I'm against implementing this idea, it's because I think it just adds further regulations to complicate alreayd complicated matters. Doctors already have tests and psychological standards for the patients who will receive the organs, according to what has just become available. This is to determine to find the best person who will likely be a successful transplant so that the organ will not go to waste.
What would be the point in putting a heart into a patient who will likely not reject the new heart, and telling the person who wasn't a donor who was a better candidate to receive the heart (was more compatible with blood type and white cell type) that they weren't chosen? The hidden reason being that they were not a donor. The chances are increased that the new heart will end up a failure and a waste, whilst there had been a better chance at success in the non-donor.
I think the important thing when it comes to organ transplant is effective transplants. It's not as simple as put it in the patient, and all is well. Organ conservation is the key, since there is a severe shortage of organs until we can clone a person's needed organ in a petri dish. Not who is more considerate, and thus deserves an organ more.