Part of Lesson Plan: Dying to Breathe

Activity Overview / Details

Donated organs are a severely limited resource the best potential recipients should be identified.  The probability of a good outcome must be highly emphasized to achieve the maximum benefit for all transplants.  Medical professionals, while honoring the moral obligations to extend life and relieve suffering whenever possible, must also recognize the limitations of transplantation in meeting these ends. Transplant centers are encouraged to develop their own guidelines for transplant candidate consideration.  Each potential transplant candidate should be examined individually and any and all guidelines should be applied without any type of ethnicity bias.

Some criteria to consider:

• Life expectancy
• Organ failure caused by behavior
• Compliance/adherence
• Repeat transplantation
• Alternative therapies

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