Insurance and Lifestyle Choice

Insurance and Lifestyle Choice

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Insurance and Lifestyle Choice

1. How are decisions made concerning who will receive an organ?

All decisions towards organ recipients should be fair and just for the parties involved. Organ donation is dependent on a variety of factors that include tissue and blood match between the patient and the donor, urgency of need for an organ, waiting list for the organ, and the Final Rule as provided by the United States Department of Health and Human Services (Henningfeld, 2012).
2. Should this patient with alcoholism, which is considered a disease, be eligible to receive another transplant?

Donation of an organ should be done irrespective of individual’s history of drug or alcohol abuse. This is because people with a history of self-inflicted damage on an organ and one without such a history have similar human rights in accessing organs from donors (Henningfeld, 2012).

3. What are the ethical and moral implications in this case?

Terming others as “worthy” of receiving organs and others as “unworthy” of receiving organs from donors contravenes basic ethics in medical practice given that all parties irrespective of individual histories have equal rights to access medical care. Organ allocation is based on fairness and the opportunities of restoration of health after receiving an organ (Hunnicutt, 2007).
4. Should the cost of the transplant affect this patient’s ability to receive one?

A majority of health institutions factor in economic considerations and value judgments in admission of individuals to organ allocation waiting lists and receipt of availed organs. Costs should not affect individual opportunity to receive organs. Individual health and probability of health restoration should be the primary consideration in the allocation of organs in waiting lists (Hunnicutt, 2007).

5. Should this patient be required to pay a greater share of the transplant cost because of lifestyle choices, to help control the overall cost of health care?

Equality and fairness amongst all patients governs organ donation and allocation in medical institutions. Individual incomes, lifestyles choices and medical histories of abuse should be minimal considerations in allocation of organs. Health concerns, probability of health restoration and health urgency should assume a priority in allocation of organs amongst patients. Equality, fairness and justice should be exercised in terms of costs accrued from the exercise, opportunity to receive organs and follow up medical exercises to ensure recovery after organ transplants (Hunnicutt, 2007).

References

Henningfeld, D. A. (2012). Organ transplants. Detroit: Greenhaven Press.

Hunnicutt, S. (2007). Organ transplants. Detroit: Greenhaven Press.