As my healthcare ethics course comes to an end, I can only be reminded of the day to day situations in which I either read or hear about health related ethical dilemmas. The knowledge I have gained throughout this course has significantly increased my awareness of ethical situations in healthcare. I am grateful for the opportunity to expand my understanding of the healthcare field in regard to ethics and will undoubtedly use the information learned in this course throughout my career as a future healthcare manager. I would especially like to thank Dr. Dawn Oetjen, my healthcare ethics professor, for making me aware and appreciative of the many different ethical situations in this challenging yet rewarding field.
My final blog of the semester focuses on an article that I found on msnbc.com, titled “China restricts organ transplants for foreigners.” From just perusing the website’s health page and briefly looking at the various article titles, I knew immediately that this particular article would have a number of ethical issues! The article reports that China is restricting organ transplants for foreigners (i.e., patients from Hong Kong, South Korea and Japan), giving precedence to China’s patients (The Associated Press, 2007). The decision to restrict organ transplants for foreigners was a result of China’s attempt to perform the majority of its transplants for foreigners, who comprised nearly 30 to 40 percent of China’s patients (The Associated Press, 2007). According to the article, “China faces a severe shortage of human organs, estimating that out of 1.5 million people who need transplants in China each year, only about 10,000 operations are carried out.” This troubling statistic is fueled by its country’s belief of not removing one’s organs before burial. The article also reported that many of the country’s organ donors may be executed prisoners who did not give permission for donating their organs.
The ethical implications behind this story are endless. For starters, the fact that China was denying its own citizens organ transplants in an effort to make more money from foreigners is clearly unethical and most disturbing. Second, now that China is implementing guidelines that will now give priority to its citizens [for organ transplants] and ignore foreigners is unethical as well. The country is ultimately just substituting one problem for another. China may now be better able to treat more of its patient population, but is withholding treatment from the country’s foreigners. Should not patients from Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea be eligible for care? Do they not deserve medical care, too? Does being a foreigner automatically disqualify patients from receiving much needed treatment? Could one imagine America making such a claim? Turning away patients for medical operations because they are visitors and/or foreigners from other countries? Of course not! Such a practice would be deemed as extremely unethical in this country. Why should this type of unethical behavior be allowed in other countries? Perhaps they do not have the same ethical principles as America does. However, the importance of human life and the right to receive medical care should be the same “across the board,” regardless of which country one resides in or how much money he or she has.
Furthermore, the fact that China’s citizens do not believe in donating their organs before burial only perpetuates the problem associated with the country’s shortage of human organs. It would certainly be unethical for China to demand that its citizens donate their organs before death as this would interfere with one’s belief system and would be considered forceful by nature. However, if China can limit the number and sex of their children, is it out of the realm of possibility to think the country could create a better solution to their problem? I am sure that some of China’s citizens donate their bodies to science or what about the idea of scientists cloning and/or growing organs? Although it could be argued that the latter would prove to have ethical ramifications as well. In any event, with such a high number of individuals needing organ transplants and not receiving such treatment, the Chinese government must consider alternative options. It is also unethical to harvest the organs of executed prisoners in China without their consent to do so. Even though these individuals are in fact prisoners, it does not necessarily give China the right to take their organs. Informed consent should be considered in this case if not mandated.
Lastly, the above story is a good example of how healthcare ethics differ from country to country. What ethical obligations and principles are practiced in one country may be viewed completely different in another country. However, as stated beforehand, whether the practice of medicine exists in America or India for that matter, it is still the practice of taking care of human lives. There should not be conditions set on human life or on the medical care that individuals receive. In a perfect world, every human would have full access and coverage to healthcare and treatment. Healthcare should not in anyway be a luxury for the rich or privileged, but a fundamental right for all humans around the world.
References:
The Associated Press (2007, July 3). China restricts organ transplants for foreigners: New guidelines will regulate procedure, give priority to Chinese patients. Retrieved on July 4, 2007, from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19584937/
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