Sporula on Organ Donation

Ina's blog comments on a case of transplantation:

Well, I used to make up a case like this one about Kaiser transplant surgeons to get students to think carefully about the consequences of various facets of our organ donation system and alternatives (e.g. paying donors, etc). People (see for example Art Caplan’s position have often suggested that our current system (donation rather than payment) would prevent people from pushing friends/relatives/patients over the “brain-dead” boundary, but I’ve never been convinced, and now, here’s potential proof.

I have to say that I always assumed these cases would be found in developing countries and specifically that subset of developing countries where medicine isn’t well-regulated. It just goes to show you huh? (Insert Annie Oakley singing “anything you can do I can do bettttteeeeerrrrrr!”). Of course, I don’t want to prejudge this particular doc, but I have to say I doubt that this is the first time a U.S. transplant surgeon’s pushed things a little - just the first time that someone might have gotten caught…

For more of Ina's Sporula, whatever that is Ina, because it is interesting stuff, go here.