HSC 1531 FSCJ Opt Out Organ Donation Pros and Cons Discussion

Instructions

Read the statistics from “Donate Life America” below, then review the TEDtalk by Dan Ariely Are we in control of our own decisions?Links to an external site.. A specific section relevant to this discussion begins at 5:22. You can choose the Transcript tab, scroll to the timecode 05:22, then choose play, to go directly to the start of the section. Pay particular attention to two points in the talk, opt-in versus opt-out forms and subscriptions.

Although there have been advances in medical technology and donation, the demand for organ, eye and tissue donation still vastly exceeds the number of donors.

Donate Life America Statistics

• More than 100,000 men, women, and children currently need life-saving organ transplants.
• Every 10 minutes, another name gets added to the national organ transplant waiting list.
• An average of 18 people die each day from the lack of available organs for transplant.
• In 2011, 8,127 deceased organ donors and 6,017 living organ donors resulted in 28,535 organ transplants.
• Last year, more than 42,000 grafts were made available for transplant by eye banks within the United States.
• According to research, 98% of all adults have heard about organ donation, and 86% have heard of tissue donation.
• 90% of Americans say they support donation, but only 30% know the essential steps to take to be a donor.

You can join the discussion by responding to one or more of the questions below, or pose your analysis of the topic this week.

1. Should the U. S. go to an opt-out option on driver’s licenses? Justify your position with more than an opinion.
2. Should people be allowed to sell a kidney?
3. Should there be a priority list other than “best match” for organ donation? How would you set up the priority list?
4. Should people be allowed to donate deceased loved ones’ organs?