[Responsibility: Towards a fifth principle in blood transfusion's ethics. Applicability and limits of Hans Jonas's

C Nélaton1

  • 1EA 4569, laboratoire d'éthique médicale et de médecine légale, faculté de médecine Paris Descartes, 75005, Paris, France.

Nowadays, in France, anonymity, gratuity, volunteering, non-profit are recognized as ethical principles in blood transfusion. Can we add responsibility to this list? Can a logo named "Responsiblood" efficiently encourage blood donation? This article explores Hans Jonas's reform of the responsibility concept in order to measure its applicabilities and limits in the field of blood transfusion. Indeed, this concept - rethought by Jonas - seems to be a good encouragement which avoids the pitfalls of the concept of duty and of the idea of payment for blood donation. But can't we also see in this reform a threat to blood transfusion because of technophobia and the heuristics of fear that it involves?

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