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Ethical Considerations for Organ Transplantation

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Anesthesia and Perioperative Care for Organ Transplantation

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Abstract

The breadth of transplant surgery, including the need to balance the needs of multiple patients, and the frequent confrontation with issues regarding death expose members of the transplant team to a variety of ethical concerns. Yet, despite extensive training, many transplant team members, including surgeons, still feel ill-prepared to deal with these issues. This chapter provides a framework for understanding and addressing the ethical questions that arise daily among patients and families and includes some familiar as well as newer perspectives on medical decision making. As transplant team members consider the ethical issues in organ donation, it may help to see organ donation as a voluntary act with the potential to morally elevate humankind, rather than viewing the human body as a repository of parts.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Pediatric General and Thoracic Surgery, Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, 4401 Penn Avenue, 7133 Faculty Pavilion, Pittsburgh, PA, 15224, USA

    Aviva L. Katz MD, MA, CIP, FACS, FAAP

Authors
  1. Aviva L. Katz MD, MA, CIP, FACS, FAAP
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Correspondence to Aviva L. Katz MD, MA, CIP, FACS, FAAP .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anesthesiology, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

    Kathirvel Subramaniam

  2. Department of Anesthesiology The Clinical and Translational Science Institute The McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

    Tetsuro Sakai

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Katz, A.L. (2017). Ethical Considerations for Organ Transplantation. In: Subramaniam, K., Sakai, T. (eds) Anesthesia and Perioperative Care for Organ Transplantation. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-6377-5_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-6377-5_1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4939-6375-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4939-6377-5

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