3.

ETHICAL ISSUES REGARDING

ALLOCATION OF LIMITED RESOURCES
THE ETHICS OF ALLOCATING ORGANS FOR TRANSPLANT POSES A CLASSICAL
PROBLEM: ANY CRITERIA DEFINED TO ALLOCATE ORGANS EFFICIENTLY,
MAXIMIZING UTILITY, CAN EASILY LEAD TO SITUATIONS PERCEIVED AS
GROSSLY UNJUST OR UNFAIR.
COST-EFFECTIVELIMITED RESOURCES FOR HEALTH SHOULD BE ALLOCATED
TO MAXIMIZE THE HEALTH BENEFITS FOR THE POPULATION SERVED
THE ALLOCATION SHOULD BE EQUITABLE OR JUST; EQUITY IS CONCERNED
WITH THE DISTRIBUTION OF BENEFITS AND COSTS TO DISTINCT INDIVIDUALS
OR GROUPS

 EUROTRANSPLANT APPROACHES THIS DILEMMA BY TAKING INTO ACCOUNT JUSTICE

(WAITING TIME, URGENCY, ETC.) AS WELL AS MEDICAL BENEFIT (TISSUE TYPING, ETC.) IN
THE COMPUTERIZED ALLOCATION RULES AND BY ALSO INCLUDING MEDICAL EXPERT
OPINION (AUDIT PROCESS) IN PRIORITIZING INDIVIDUAL PATIENTS ON THE WAITING LIST.

FIRST AND SECOND GENERATION IMMIGRANTS FROM A DIFFERENT ETHNIC BACKGROUND ON

THE WAITING LIST HAVE DIFFERENT TISSUE CHARACTERISTICS AND THEREFORE GENERALLY
HAVE TO WAIT LONGER THAN NATIVE PATIENTS. AS IN MANY CASES THE AWARENESS ON THE
BENEFITS OF ORGAN DONATION IN POPULATIONS OF IMMIGRANTS IS LOW, RELATIVELY FEW
DONOR ORGANS ARE AVAILABLE FOR PATIENTS FROM THESE POPULATIONS. ATTEMPTS TO
INCREASE THE AWARENESS ON ORGAN DONATION AND TO INCREASE THE WILLINGNESS IN
THESE POPULATIONS TO DONATE ORGANS CAN HELP TO REDUCE WAITING TIME FOR THESE
PATIENTS.

 THE MOST IMPORTANT CRITICISM EXPRESSED IS THE PLAYING GOD AND BEING
UNNATURAL
IN THE FIRST GROUP WHICH PARTLY POSSESSES THEOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS,
CRITICS BELIEVE THAT MANKIND HAS BECOME SO REVOLUTIONARY AND REBELLIOUS
TRYING TO TAKE THE PLACE OF GOD. IN ADDITION, USING GENETIC ENGINEERING,
MANKIND IS ABLE TO CREATE CREATURES THAT HAVE NEVER EXISTED IN THE NATURE.
THEREFORE, HE IS PASSING FROM BEING A CREATION TO BEING A CREATOR, MORE TH AN
EVER

BASICALLY, TRANSGENIC ANIMALS ORGAN TRANSPLANTATION INTO HUMAN IS

"UNNATURAL" AND IS CONSIDERED AS AN INAPPROPRIATE INTERFERE IN NATURE,
BOTH IN ORDER AND STRUCTURE THAT ARE INTRINSICALLY GOOD.
ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT ISSUES IS THE LACK OF CERTAINTY AND PROPER
SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE REGARDING TRANSFER OF VIRUSES AND DISEASES FROM
ANIMALS TO THE RECIPIENT.