Beating Heart Donation

Question 1

What is beating heart donation?

Answer 1

-Happens after brain stem death while the heart is still beating

Question 2

What is non beating heart donation?

Answer 2

-Happens after circulatory death after heart stops

Question 3

Moral Issues Raised

Answer 3

Dead donor rule
Personhood
Respect

Question 4

What is the dead donor rule?

Answer 4

Controversy over how we establish if someone is dead, is brain stem death really death?

Question 5

What is an example of the moral issue of the Dead donor rule?

Answer 5

Joni MacMath - was pronounced brain dead but her mother insisted she was still alive after bsd and doctors thought she was dead and wanted to use her organs

Question 6

What is the issue of personhood?

Answer 6

Controversy over wether a brain stem dead person is a person or not and that determines if bhd is morally acceptable

Question 7

What is the issue of respect?

Answer 7

If doctors veiw beating heart donors as spare parts they may not experience the same respect and care as organ recipients, damaging the relationship between doctors patients and families

Question 8

What is the utilitarian response to BHD?

Answer 8

“A concept so desirable in its consequences that it is unthinkable to give up”-Peter Singer
Would support BHD because increases organ supply
Wouldn’t support BHD if most people didn’t consider brain stem death death as it would damage medical integrity

Question 9

What is the humanist response to BHD?

Answer 9

“Leaving the decision up to the family is the most practical especially because there is no concencious between scientists, philosophers and bioethisists on the definition of death” donors families should make the decision
They would support BHD if the family was okay with it