Philosophy Commons^™

Organ Procurement, Values And Public Policy, Ronald P. Hamel

Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science

The success of organ transplants in recent years has created a shortage of transplantable cadaver organs. Voluntarism, the primary mode of organ procurement currently in use nationwide, appears to be no longer successful. Policy makers and others are examining alternatives to the current system, namely, presumed consent (routine salvaging) and required request. In this process, there is a danger in considering only the effectiveness of the means and neglecting the value and belief commitments that underlie them. These need to be brought to the surface because they ultimately contribute toward shaping the moral character of society. In this light, required …