GS Paper 4
Syllabus: Applications of ethics
Context: The Health Ministry is investigating Indraprastha Apollo Hospital over allegations of a ‘cash-for-kidney’ scam, following reports that the hospital is involved in a racket enticing impoverished individuals from Myanmar to sell their organs.
What is Organ transplantation?
It is a medical procedure in which an organ or tissue is removed from one person (the donor) and transplanted into another person (the recipient) to replace a damaged or failing organ. Common organ transplants include kidneys, heart, liver, lungs, and pancreas.
Status:
Huge Gap: Only 6000 renal transplants annually against over 2 lakh persons suffering from renal failure.
Government Regulations:
- Organ donation and transplantation in India are regulations through the Transplantation of Human Organs Act (THOA), 1994.
- National Organ Transplant Programme (NOTP) to promote organ donation and transplantation.
- Modified National Organ Transplantation Guidelines: It allows those above 65 years of age to receive an organ for transplantation from deceased donors. It also removed the domicile requirement to register as an organ recipient
Ethical Issues concerned in the case are:
| Ethical Issues | Implications |
| Organ Trafficking | If the allegations are true, it is against human ethics as it involves exploiting impoverished individuals for organ sales. |
| Informed Consent | Questions arise about the adequacy of informed consent, particularly given the financial vulnerability of donors from Myanmar. |
| Equity and Justice | Concerns emerge over the exacerbation of global healthcare disparities, as wealthy patients potentially exploit the impoverished for organs. |
| International Medical Tourism | The involvement of international patients raises ethical dilemmas about prioritizing affluent patients over local healthcare needs. |
| Patient Safety | Ensuring the safety of both donors and recipients is critical; any compromise in safety would be ethically problematic. |
Several ethical thinkers have contributed to the field of medical ethics:
- Hippocrates: Often regarded as the father of Western medicine, his principles, such as the Hippocratic Oath, emphasize the ethical duties of physicians.
- Immanuel Kant: Known for his deontological ethics, Kant’s ideas on treating individuals with respect and dignity
- Beauchamp and Childress: Joseph Beauchamp and James Childress proposed the widely used principles of biomedical ethics – autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice.
- Tom L. Beauchamp and James F. Childress: They developed the influential framework known as the “Four Principles of Biomedical Ethics,” which has had a significant impact on contemporary medical ethics.
