Ethics and the Acquisition of Organs: (Issues in Biomedical Ethics)

Transplantation is a medically successful and cost-effective way to treat people whose organs have failed--but not enough organs are available to meet demand. Ethics and the Acquisition of Organs is concerned with the major ethical problems raised by policies for acquiring organs. The main topics are the rights of the dead, the role of the family, opt in and opt out systems, the conscription of organs, living organ donation from adults and children, directed donation and priority for donors, and the sale of organs. In this ground-breaking work, T. M. Wilkinson uses concepts from moral and political theory such as autonomy, rights, posthumous interests, justice, and well-being, in a context informed by the clinical, legal, and policy aspects of transplantation. The result is a rigorous philosophical exploration of real problems and options. He argues that the ethics of acquiring organs for transplantation is not only of great intellectual interest, but also of practical importance. As such, this book will be of profit not only to students and academics who work in applied ethics and bioethics, but also to the lawyers, policy-makers, clinicians, and lobby groups interested in transplantation.

Table of Contents:
1: INTRODUCTION 2: TRANSPLANTATION AND RIGHTS OVER OUR BODIES 3: THE POSSIBILITY OF POSTHUMOUS HARM 4: THE MORAL CLAIMS OF THE DEAD 5: THE DEAD AND THEIR FAMILIES 6: CONSENT AND UNCERTAINTY ABOUT THE WISHES OF THE DEAD 7: CONSCRIPTION 8: LIVING DONOR ORGAN TRANSPLANTATION 9: IMPARTIALITY, ACQUISITION, AND ALLOCATION 10: ORGANS AND MONEY Bibliography Index

About the Author :
T. M. Wilkinson is an Associate Professor in Political Studies at the University of Auckland. He is a political philosopher with a longstanding interest and publishing record in transplantation ethics. He has published on a wide range of topics besides transplantation, such as distributive justice, freedom, public health ethics, and research ethics. He was chair of the New Zealand government's Bioethics Council and is currently a member of its National Ethics Advisory Committee.

Review :
But Wilkinson's book is a good example of work in applied ethics which takes seriously the need to apply philosophical thinking to closely observed context, being well-informed of relevant scientific and medical facts, laws, policies, and just as importantly, giving extremely useful details on how practice often diverges from official policy. There should be more philosophical work like this. Throughout the book, Wilkinson argues strongly for an ethics based on personal sovereignty. However, his clear analysis and criticism of competing ethical arguments gives the reader an excellent overview of the issues, whether or not one agrees with all of Wilkinson's conclusions. a robust and highly useful volume, working through many of the issues which get raised ... but seldom are offered the necessary time and attention ... This is what Wilkinson does with skill, critical engagement and coherency, bringing together different strands of thought and perspectives ... The result is an inspiring and intellectually rigorous text ... For me it was one of those books which, once I had finished reading it, I wanted to start reading it again in order to improve my understanding of the books material and imbibe its many salient points ... I see this book as being an excellent resource not only for those studying in the field of applied ethics and bioethics but also those coming at the issues from the legal perspective, policymakers, clinicians, and lobby groups interested in transplantation.