The Organ Market and Medical Tourism

[fractalfeline]

So, I had a fun heated debate today in class and I thought I'd share the fun with you guys!

Imagine a scenario as follows:
Bob is a 32 year old newlywed, recently diagnosed with liver cancer. He needs a liver transplant. The wait list by UNOS (http://www.unos.org/) has him on a 6-9 month wait. Bob has some cash, so rather than wait, he decides to use his cash. He contacts various media outlets, makes a webpage, puts up billboards, and gives interviews regarding his need for a liver transplant. 3 months later, Bob receives a liver via an anonymous donor, who was made aware of Bob's need via the media campaign.

So the question: is this ethical? Yes/No/Maybe/Dunno?

I generally sided with Not Ethical during the debate, but there were quite a few who argued that it is Ethical. There were even some On The Fence about this issue. Regardless of what's ethical, many sided with "You can't stop Bob from making this campaign, so technically it doesn't matter." So, I thought I'd see what the x10 forum would think about this?

At least one person suggested "Why doesn't he just buy a liver with that money instead of this media campaign?" Apparently, certain countries are well known for "Medical Tourism" in which a person in need of an organ can literally shop for an organ. Is THAT ethical?

Lum dee, so I'm hoping someone will run with this topic. Cheers!

[Smith6612]

Definitely don't see it as very Ethical. You can't "buy" people or parts of people. I run along the basis that medical needs are on a good will service that should not be monetized. Obviously, there is a lack of donations for things such as livers, blood, and other organs hence the waiting list, not including the possible lack of doctors too.