1. Should organ donation be mandatory for all citizens in the United States of A
1. Should organ donation be mandatory for all citizens in the United States of America who are eligible to donate and meet the requirements? Should mandatory organ donation be required in order to increase the supply of available organs? Should individuals be allowed to buy organs from living donors and cadavers from other countries? What are the human rights implications?
2. Explore your thoughts on the dead donor rule as it is presently defined and how the rules could be changed to include people who no longer have higher brain function but have lower brain function, such as patients in a persistent vegetative state (PVS). How would changing this rule change societal values and your own values concerning life and death?
3. Should it be illegal to conceive a sibling in order for the expressed purpose of organ donation of their family member? Should insurance and the federal government fund this pregnancy if the organ donation will be less expensive than supportive therapy of the sibling with failing organs?
4. Should noncompliant end stage renal failure patients be removed from dialysis if they are noncompliant with their treatment plan? Could this federal money be redirected to invest in other chronic disease management programs such as diabetes and hypertension?
5.
As indicated in Walker and Markos’s findings (2002), the reality of power imbalances between vulnerable-feeling patients and the persuasion of healthcare providers magnifies negative feelings of lack of control. How could you work with a chronically ill asthma patient to help her feel more in control?
6. How do you think the organ supply could be increased?
