A review of ethical issues in transplantation

Unavoidable and unique characteristics of the transplant surgeon's practice require difficult moral judgments. The two major areas of moral quandary are organ procurement and organ allocation. This paper outlines the key ethical issues in transplantation and draws attention to some of the recent literature that argues more specific issues in greater detail. The subjects discussed include brain death, living organ donation, procurement policies, organ sales, distributive justice, free riders (nondonators), duties and debts, and research.