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Altruism in organ donation : an unnecessary requirement?
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Moorlock, Greg, Ives, Jonathan and Draper, Heather (2013) Altruism in organ donation : an unnecessary requirement? Journal of Medical Ethics, 40 (2). pp. 134-138. doi:10.1136/medethics-2012-100528
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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/medethics-2012-100528
Abstract
Altruism has long been taken to be the guiding principle of ethical organ donation in the UK, and has been used as justification for rejecting or allowing certain types of donation. We argue that, despite this prominent role, altruism has been poorly defined in policy and position documents, and used confusingly and inconsistently. Looking at how the term has been used over recent years allows us to define ‘organ donation altruism’, and comparing this with accounts in the philosophical literature highlights its theoretical shortcomings. The recent report from the Nuffield Council on Bioethics reaffirmed the importance of altruism in organ donation, and offered a clearer definition. This definition is, however, more permissive than that of altruism previously seen in UK policy, and as a result allows some donations that previously have been considered unacceptable. We argue that while altruistic motivation may be desirable, it is not necessary.
| Item Type: | Journal Article | ||||||
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| Subjects: | B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BJ Ethics R Medicine > RD Surgery |
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| Divisions: | Faculty of Medicine > Warwick Medical School > Health Sciences Faculty of Medicine > Warwick Medical School > Health Sciences > Social Science & Systems in Health (SSSH) Faculty of Medicine > Warwick Medical School |
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| Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Donation of organs, tissues, etc., Altruism | ||||||
| Journal or Publication Title: | Journal of Medical Ethics | ||||||
| Publisher: | BMJ Group | ||||||
| ISSN: | 0306-6800 | ||||||
| Official Date: | 28 March 2013 | ||||||
| Dates: |
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| Date of first compliant deposit: | 12 January 2017 | ||||||
| Volume: | 40 | ||||||
| Number: | 2 | ||||||
| Page Range: | pp. 134-138 | ||||||
| DOI: | 10.1136/medethics-2012-100528 | ||||||
| Status: | Peer Reviewed | ||||||
| Publication Status: | Published | ||||||
| Access rights to Published version: | Open Access | ||||||
| Funder: | Arts & Humanities Research Council (Great Britain) (AHRC), University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust |
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