Skip to content Skip to navigation
University of Warwick
  • Study
  • |
  • Research
  • |
  • Business
  • |
  • Alumni
  • |
  • News
  • |
  • About

University of Warwick
Publications service & WRAP

Highlight your research

  • WRAP
    • Home
    • Search WRAP
    • Browse by Warwick Author
    • Browse WRAP by Year
    • Browse WRAP by Subject
    • Browse WRAP by Department
    • Browse WRAP by Funder
    • Browse Theses by Department
  • Publications Service
    • Home
    • Search Publications Service
    • Browse by Warwick Author
    • Browse Publications service by Year
    • Browse Publications service by Subject
    • Browse Publications service by Department
    • Browse Publications service by Funder
  • Help & Advice
University of Warwick

The Library

  • Login
  • Admin

Directed altruistic living donation : what is wrong with the beauty contest?

Tools
- Tools
+ Tools

Moorlock, Greg (2015) Directed altruistic living donation : what is wrong with the beauty contest? Journal of Medical Ethics, 41 (11). pp. 875-879. doi:10.1136/medethics-2014-102230

[img]
Preview
PDF
WRAP_875.full.pdf - Published Version - Requires a PDF viewer.
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution 4.0.

Download (665Kb) | Preview
Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/medethics-2014-102230

Request Changes to record.

Abstract

This paper explores the specific criticism of directed altruistic living organ donation that it creates a ‘beauty contest’ between potential recipients of organs. The notion of the beauty contest in transplantation was recently used by Neidich et al who stated that ‘altruism should be the guiding motivation for all donations, and when it is, there is no place for a beauty contest{\textquoteright}. I examine this beauty contest objection from two perspectives. First, I argue that, when considered against the behaviour of donors, this objection cannot be consistently raised without also objecting to other common aspects of organ donation. I then explore the beauty contest objection from the perspective of recipients, and argue that if the beauty contest is objectionable, it is because of a tension between recipient behaviour and the altruism that supposedly underpins the donation system. I conclude by briefly questioning the importance of this tension in light of the organ shortage.

Item Type: Journal Article
Subjects: B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BJ Ethics
R Medicine > RD Surgery
Divisions: Faculty of Medicine > Warwick Medical School > Health Sciences > Social Science & Systems in Health (SSSH)
Faculty of Medicine > Warwick Medical School
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): Donation of organs, tissues, etc. -- Moral and ethical aspects, Altruism
Journal or Publication Title: Journal of Medical Ethics
Publisher: BMJ Group
ISSN: 0306-6800
Official Date: 30 June 2015
Dates:
DateEvent
30 June 2015Published
8 June 2015Accepted
Volume: 41
Number: 11
Page Range: pp. 875-879
DOI: 10.1136/medethics-2014-102230
Status: Peer Reviewed
Publication Status: Published
Access rights to Published version: Open Access
Funder: Economic and Social Research Council (Great Britain) (ESRC), Arts & Humanities Research Council (Great Britain) (AHRC), Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Great Britain), Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure (Great Britain)‏
Grant number: ES/ M00354X/1 (ESRC)

Request changes or add full text files to a record

Repository staff actions (login required)

View Item View Item

Downloads

Downloads per month over past year

View more statistics

twitter

Email us: wrap@warwick.ac.uk
Contact Details
About Us