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The god squad and the origins of transplantation ethics and policy

Albert R Jonsen1

  • 1Emeritus of Ethics Department in Medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine, USA.

The Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics : a Journal of the American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics
|May 24, 2007
PubMed

Insights

The 1960s saw organ replacement begin, but patient selection for scarce resources like dialysis created ethical dilemmas. Debates over these life-or-death decisions spurred the birth of bioethics.

Area of Science:

  • Medical Ethics
  • History of Medicine
  • Bioethics

Background:

  • The advent of chronic dialysis and renal transplantation in the 1960s marked a new era in organ replacement.
  • These medical breakthroughs introduced complex ethical challenges, particularly concerning resource allocation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To examine the historical context and ethical origins of bioethics.
  • To explore the impact of scarce resource allocation on medical decision-making.

Main Methods:

  • Historical analysis of medical advancements and ethical debates.
  • Review of early patient selection processes for dialysis.

Main Results:

  • The scarcity of organs and treatment options necessitated difficult patient selection.
  • A committee in Seattle, dubbed the "God Committee," controversially decided patient eligibility for dialysis.

Conclusions:

  • The ethical quandaries surrounding patient selection for life-saving treatments were pivotal.
  • These debates directly contributed to the formal establishment and development of the field of bioethics.

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