Mrs. Plant has a fatal disease that affects individual organs while leaving others intact. Unfortunately, treatments for her condition are no longer working, and she is reaching the end of her life. Mrs. Plant’s physician meets with her to have an end-of-life discussion, which includes donating organs unaffected by her disease. However, in order to be an organ donor, she must discontinue her treatment, which may shorten her life. Mrs. Plant agrees to discontinue her treatment and become an organ donor. Though she seems happy with her decision to give someone else a chance, her family is distraught. They believe that she wants to continue to live as long as possible, but the option of helping others has coerced her into donating her organs. After careful deliberation with patient and family, the case is brought before an ethics consult.
How would you opine?
Samuel Timm is a student at The University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix, class of 2019, and is a native of Arizona. He graduated from The University of Arizona in 2013 with a Bachelor in Science in psychology. His academic interests include medical ethics and medical advocacy in legislation and policy. In his spare time, Sam enjoys swimming, playing guitar, traveling, and hiking. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact him at samuelt[at]email.arizona.edu.