Title |
Doctor can I buy a new kidney? I've heard it isn't forbidden: what is the role of the nephrologist when dealing with a patient who wants to buy a kidney?
|
---|---|
Published in |
Philosophy, Ethics, and Humanities in Medicine, December 2015
|
DOI | 10.1186/s13010-015-0033-x |
Pubmed ID | |
Authors |
Giorgina Barbara Piccoli, Laura Sacchetti, Laura Verzè, Franco Cavallo, Working group of the students of the Torino Medical School |
Abstract |
Organ trafficking is officially banned in several countries and by the main Nephrology Societies. However, this practice is widespread and is allowed or tolerated in many countries, hence, in the absence of a universal law, the caregiver may be asked for advice, placing him/her in a difficult balance between legal aspects, moral principles and ethical judgments.In spite of the Istanbul declaration, which is a widely shared position statement against organ trafficking, the controversy on mercenary organ donation is still open and some experts argue against taking a negative stance. In the absence of clear evidence showing the clinical disadvantages of mercenary transplantation compared to chronic dialysis, self-determination of the patient (and, with several caveats, of the donor) may conflict with other ethical principles, first of all non-maleficence. The present paper was drawn up with the participation of the students, as part of the ethics course at our medical school. It discusses the situation in which the physician acts as a counselor for the patient in the way of a sort of "reverse" informed consent, in which the patient asks advice regarding a complex personal decision, and includes a peculiar application of the four principles (beneficence, non-maleficence, justice and autonomy) to the donor and recipient parties. |
X Demographics
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
United Kingdom | 1 | 25% |
United States | 1 | 25% |
United Arab Emirates | 1 | 25% |
Unknown | 1 | 25% |
Demographic breakdown
Type | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Members of the public | 2 | 50% |
Science communicators (journalists, bloggers, editors) | 1 | 25% |
Practitioners (doctors, other healthcare professionals) | 1 | 25% |
Mendeley readers
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
United States | 1 | 2% |
Unknown | 44 | 98% |
Demographic breakdown
Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Student > Master | 9 | 20% |
Student > Ph. D. Student | 5 | 11% |
Student > Bachelor | 4 | 9% |
Professor > Associate Professor | 4 | 9% |
Other | 4 | 9% |
Other | 8 | 18% |
Unknown | 11 | 24% |
Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Medicine and Dentistry | 13 | 29% |
Psychology | 5 | 11% |
Nursing and Health Professions | 5 | 11% |
Social Sciences | 4 | 9% |
Arts and Humanities | 2 | 4% |
Other | 5 | 11% |
Unknown | 11 | 24% |