Presumed Consent for Organ Donation - Term Paper Example

The treatment of the dead body has enormous implications, not only for religious and spiritual reasons but also for non-religious and cultural reasons. Organ donation may be considered as one of the final acts of the individual who intends to part with his or her organs or tissue for the wellbeing of another person or for medical use. It basically depends on the decision regarding how the individual desires to live his or her life and to be remembered after his or her death (Inquiry into the EU Commission’s Communication on Organ Donation and Transplantation: Policy Action at EU Level 2008).

Organ donation is also an ethical decision since it is intended to benefit the recipients of organs by way of transplantation. It is also a decision that may influence those whom the deceased leaves behind. Similarly, in cases where death occurs suddenly, in the absence of an explicit decision from the deceased, “the feelings of the bereaved family are very important”. The dilemma for many occurs when body parts are being cremated or buried. This contributes to an increase in the complications relating to ethical issues, apart from logistical problems.

There can be inconsistencies in what people say they would do because their opinions and beliefs are subject to change according to the situation. Evidence suggests that “90% of the population supports the concept of organ donation – and what they actually do, i.e. they do not carry donor cards, and only 23% have registered their wish to donate”. Families of the dead usually decline donation because they are not fully aware of the deceased person’s wishes. On the other hand, if the deceased had explicitly expressed a desire to donate organs, the relatives would do their best to fulfill the wishes of the dead person.

Authorizing presumed consent is obtaining an absolute apathy of the founding ethical principles, or respect for autonomy, which is one of the four major principles of medical ethics. Spiritual and ethical education can be used to discover ethical rules in the relationship between motivation and actual behavior. The divergence between individual rights and the advantage to society or to others as a group and apprehensions regarding the nature of physical reliability are at the core of the discussion.

Importance of Obtaining Presuming Consent: As per the ethical view of the universe, there is an agreement that organs may be retrieved if there is a legitimate consent. Numerous legal approaches currently in vogue relate to this. Presumed consent permits the organs to be used for the purpose of transplantation after death, except where the individual has objected to such donations. On the other hand, an informed consent system specifies that the individual must explicitly approve organ removal after death, by joining a national registry, carrying a donor card or any such document (Gill 2004).

In the United Kingdom, the focus is on flexible choice, where the approval or assent of the family of the deceased is still necessary before harvesting the organ. If the deceased has not expressed any objection, organs will automatically become obtainable, if the relatives do not object to their removal.