organ transplant question?

Question by You ask, I answer: organ transplant question?
if someone is on the list for an organ transplant, say a lung or a liver, and they are either a smoker or an alcoholic, and you KNOW that they wouldn’t stop smoking or drinking, is it fair that they should receive an organ ahead of someone whose illness warrants their need for a new organ? should the person who abuses their body get a new organ before a sick person gets one, just because they are ahead on the list?

Best answer:

Answer by christigmc
Good Point!!! I personally don’t thnk it’s fair but those are the rules. Also one could argue this. What if someone needed a lung transplant because they breathed in second hand smoke all their life because of let’s say a job. and after receiving the transplant they have to go back to that job and breathe in all the smoke again. Is that fair either?

Answer by auken_hill
I believe that the organ transplantation system tries to be as objective as possible. The same argument for a alcoholic versus a non-alcoholic could be made for a rich person versus a poor person. There are other issues at stake here; for example, do you want hospitals making decisions on care based on your lifestyle? If I don’t eat the best diet, should that make me less likely to receive a kidney if my current kidneys are failing?

This is really a question of bioethics for which there is no real answer. Is it fair? I don’t think so. But I also don’t want people making assessments of what care they are going to give me based on my lifestyle. So, personal freedom wins out for me and a “first come, first serve” organ recipient goes with the territory.

Substance Abuse and Victimization – Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Office for Victims of Crime National Victim Assistance Academy Substance Abuse and Victimization NCJ 204552 …