Transplantation and identity: a dangerous split?

摘要

Since the first live-kidney transplant in 1952 and the first heart transplant in 1967, transplantation has provoked ethical questions that relate to the donor rather than the recipient. Answers to these questions vary, depending on countries and cultures; practices can range from organ donation (cadaveric or live), organ trading, to a complete ban on transplantation. In France and the UK, a dead person is considered a potential organ donor unless their family explicitly refuses. The fact that the final decision rests with the family i ndicates that transplantation raises cultural issues, requiring a respect for individuality and kinship. In this situation, the identity of an individual extends beyond him or herself. Until recently, transplant procedures were done only in life-threatening cases and the ethical status of the donor was more acute than that of the recipient, except when receiving an organ was banned on religious or cultural grounds. Furthermore the transplanted organs were internal and non-visible, and the self-identity of the organ recipient was not in question, even if sometimes he or she could not help imagining the donor's life and character.