Organ Donation and Transplantation Medicine: Ethical Framework and Solutions

Abstract

Advances in surgery and the introduction of drugs that suppress the immune system have paved the way for transplantation medicine. Today, the donation and transplantation of tissues and organs (including heart, kidney, liver, lung, pancreas, cornea, bone marrow, and face) are feasible. Transplantation medicine has created new areas of ethical and legal discussion. In these discussions, four principles generally accepted in medical ethics - beneficence, non-maleficence, autonomy, and justice - have featured in their different aspects. In particular, the principles of non-maleficence and autonomy can collide. The dramatic increase in the number of people waiting for an organ shows that any deadlock on this subject means the death of many: hence, it is important to find a solution appropriate to the values held in society. In this study discussing current transplantation methods throughout the world, basic ethical dilemmas are addressed and effective solutions sought in accordance with ethical perspectives.