A Bioethical Study of the Informed Consent for Organ Donor

장기공여를 위한 사전동의의 생의윤리학적 고찰

This is a study to search for the ethical basis for valid informed consent of organ donors. It is an admirable action that a person give his own body part or organ as a gift to another person. The organ for transplantation can be removed only when the donor consents voluntarily to donation. It is recently proposed as the need for organ transplantation is increased that organs can be harvested although the consent of deceased cannot be obtained. This may raise many moral issues because human beings all have an unalienable right to control their own bodies. The principle of autonomy is usually regarded as an ethical basis for informed consent. However, some people criticize that the principle of autonomy requires a person and his decision to be autonomous (but there are many patients who aren't autonomous due to their confusion or unconscious condition in a clinical situation). or this principle can foster indifference to patients needing help: thus respect for principles of care and beneficence is necessary. When we consider the complexity of making a decision about organ donation. the principle of autonomy should be replaced by the principle of respect for individual autonomy. as expressed by Childress (1990). This principle requires the care givers to respect the client's individual decisions. The elements of informed consent are threshold elements: competence to understand and decide. voluntariness in deciding: information elements: disclosure of material information. recommendation of a plan. understanding of disclosure and recommendation: and consent elements: decision in favor of a plan. authorization of the chosen plan. In cases of living donors. the elements of competence and voluntariness are more important than the others. So only an adult can give a recipient his own body part. but it should be forbidden to harvest from minors or protected adults (i.e. developmentally disabled person However. when organs are removed from a cadaver donor. we ought to respect the donor's decision. So we ought to try to seek donor cards or any documents expressing the donor's opinion about organ transplant. All health care givers ought to disclose donor information about organ transplantation clearly enough for the donor to understand it and to be able to weigh the harms and benefits. We are going to propose 'the subjective standard' as the ethical standard of disclosure. This standard will assure that patients have enough information to be able to decide autonomously from their own position. Care givers have to consider the method of disclosure because donors can be influenced by it positively or negatively, Establishment of the Hospital Committee is recommended. because medical professionals will have a chance to discuss the procedure of decision and the validity of harvesting a organ from a person.