Award Date
1-1-1998
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
Ethics and Policy Studies
First Committee Member
Craig Walton
Number of Pages
149
Abstract
Ethical and moral issues facing potential organ donors, their families or agents, and the medical community are created and driven by the rapidly expanding demand for the life-giving resource (ever more successfully utilized)--a factor coupled with the persistently scarce and relatively constant low level of supply. The serious nature of the shortage of compatible organs has prompted medical, ethical, and legal scholars to consider alternatives to altruistic donation. This approach has never been able to keep up with the demand--indeed, it falls further behind each year. One set of alternatives involves (currently banned) financial incentives for organ donors. I will argue that some form of incentive, or other policy-type recommendation is the only possible method of catching up with the technological innovations, that while incredible, serve to exacerbate the demand/supply dis-equilibrium. The thesis will examine the ethical and moral issues that pertain to this dilemma and recommend policies targeted at alternatives for resolving the supply problems.
Keywords
Alternative; Altruism; Donor; Failure; Improve; Organ; Rate; Transplantation
Controlled Subject
Political science; Economics; Health services administration
File Format
File Size
4003.84 KB
Degree Grantor
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Language
English
Permissions
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Repository Citation
Mundy, John Richards, "The failure of altruism: Alternatives to improve the donor rate in organ transplantation" (1998). UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations. 961.
http://dx.doi.org/10.25669/p688-xh1p
Rights
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