Description
What should we do about transplant organs? An interdisciplinary workshop on the ethics and economics of a medical crisis.As advances in medical technology have made transplantation an increasingly routine procedure, transplant organs have become a desperately scarce resource. Currently, over 10,000 patients in the UK are in need of an organ transplant; [1] Scotland suffers from a particularly acute shortage of organs. In academic circles, fierce debate has raged over the possibility of organ markets and incentives to increase supply. UK health-service policy remains firmly opposed to the introduction of markets for transplant organs and the NHS has launched a public campaign to increase the number of donors.
Should markets be considered in the UK? In the place of markets, how are problems of scarcity dealt with? Moreover, the debate over markets obscures the complex and subtle issues that surround transplantation: How do we define death? How do medical practitioners weigh up the ethics and practicalities of novel procedures and changing standards? How do potential (and actual) donors and organ recipients view the procedures that they undertake? How do conceptions of identity affect both donors and recipients? What are the religious perspectives on transplantation? What of fairness, equity and social justice; and what of cost-utility and efficiency? What have economics and the law to say on the subject?
The workshop will explore the topic of organ transplants from an interdisciplinary perspective, encompassing philosophy, human geography, consumption, and economic sociology. We are delighted to welcome Mr John Forsythe, Scotland's leading transplant surgeon, who will share his professional experiences and opinions with us, and Professor Stephen Wilkinson of Keele University, author of Bodies for Sale (2003), who will act as discussant.
| Period | 30 Jun 2010 |
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| Event type | Other |
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