Organ transplantation in the Health Care Industry 1

Organ Transplantation in the Health Care Industry

De Andre’ Chaission

Texas Southern University

Authors Note

De Andre’ S Chaission , Department of Health Sciences, Health Administration Major

Correspondece concerning this article should be addressed to De Andre Chaission, Health Administration, Texas Southern University, Houston, Tx 77004

Contact : Chaission@yahoo.com

Organ Transplantation in the Health Care Industry 3

Organ transplantation is a medical act which involves the surgical operating by

transferring or removing of an organ from one person to the other, or placing the organ

of a donor into the body of a recipient for the replacement of the recipients damaged or

failed organ which resulted from impairment of normal physiological function affecting

part or all of an organism or an act that causes someone to receive physical

damage. Lately, there is an emerging innovation whereby organs are created to form

and increase in size by a process of inorganic accretion, from the patient’s cell. This

field of medicine is known as the regenerative medicine. In addition to this, there are

basically various types of regenerative medical transplanting which are known as the

auto graft, allograft organic transplantation, iso-graft, xeno-graft and xeno-

transplantation, Split transplants, and Domino transplantation (Schicktanz, 2010,

p4).According to the surgical field of medical profession, transplantation is performed in

various parts of the human organ which are liver, heart, kidneys, lungs, intestine,

pancreas and the thymus. Consequently, the transplantation of the kidney happens to

be the most widely embraced worldwide.

However, the donors of these organs are either living or having irreversible loss

of brain function as indicated by a persistent flat electroencephalogram. The impact on

social and moral values and norms of organ transplantation for the incarcerated

population: There has been series of question arising on the social and moral value of

organ transplantation for the incarcerated population. The tendency or disposition of this

question is one of the most debatable issues whether expensive medical care should be

given to the people who are incarcerated. Although, there are so many people whose

Organ Transplantation in the Health Care Industry 4

argument was obtained through intuition rather than from reasoning or observation that

since the prisoners are offenders they do not deserve scarce medical resources in the

like of organ transplant and the provision of adequate and normal medical care which is

unobtainable to the less privileged, citizens who adhere strictly to laws and rules and

customs of the society.

In spite of this, felon’s organ transplantation is an issue consisting of

interconnected parts and controversial, other than the issue of the felons or prisoners

donation of organs. While, the issue of the incarcerated population having the privilege

of this scarce medical resources is extensively and generally approved or compelling

recognition within the correctional health profession and there is a case-law supporting

the matter of concern, that the statues of a person as an inmate must not preclude such

person as a patient from receiving adequate care in respect to serious health needs,

regardless of the cost of such treatment. They also have all the social and moral values

since the law does not exempt them from citizenship (Puisis, 2006, p.23). Therefore,

the provision of organ transplant is not restricted to inmates. Generally, societies have,

under the best of conditions, a middling track record when it comes to evaluating the

value of the incarcerated population. In relation to this is that the society believes that

since the incarcerated population has taken so much from the society through their act

which is punishable by law; and usually considered an evil act.

Consequently, they do not deserve being spent so much money for organ

transplantation on rather the money should be used for the less privileged member of

the society who are unable to foot their bill for such scarce medical attention. In line with

Organ Transplantation in the Health Care Industry 5

this, with the continuous detention of the sick incarcerated population without being

given adequate medical care most especially in the range of organ transplant, the

society perspective is that it will give access to the poor and abiding citizens who also

need the medical attention. But looking at it from the medical perspective one will agree

that continuous treatment without actually solving the problem will cost more. Therefore,

if we base their treatment on the monetary aspect of it them the need for a transplant is

essential for the incarcerated population.

Identification and description of the implications for nursing practice:Michael

Puisis stated that nurses represent the frontline of health care in correctional

settings. All concerned with or providing correction health system relies heavily on the

nursing staff for the provision of adequate care, while, this obligation required of nurses

can sometime result in an ethical quandary. There is possibility of nurses being asked to

execute work that they are obliged to perform for moral or legal reasons or make

decisions that is beyond their feeling of freedom from worry or disappointments, training

and experience, or even their accordance with recognized or accepted standards or

principles in their scope of practice. However, when a nurse experiences this kind of

pressure, refusal to comply is the ethical action to be taken (Puisis, 2006,

p.23).Furthermore, when an order by a physician is erroneous, in the sense that the

medication dosage, choice of drugs, frequency and monitoring vital signs, and

responsiveness of a patient under observation is erroneous thereby putting the patients

at risk, due to the professional opinion, it’s the duty of the nurse to discuss the matter

with the practitioner (of medicine) who does clinical work instead of laboratory

Organ Transplantation in the Health Care Industry 6

experiments, that gave the prescription. Then if necessary action is not taken, then it’s

the nurse obligation to refuse to carry out the order and to notify the appropriate

personnel immediately. Explanation of how an ethical theory and/or ethical principle

might be applied to address the chosen topic, furtherance, to the discussed issue, there

has been ethical matters facing the health practitioners, in relation to the incarcerated

population which is faced by correctional medical practitioner which are radically

distinctive and without equal to their working environment.

At regular intervals, correctional medical practitioners are asked to use medical

skills for non-medical purposes, like the search of felon’s rectal or genital areas for any

form of contraband. The ethical approach is using of an outside practitioner who has

never provided nor has a therapeutic relationship with the inmate as stated by the

National Standards and ethical Codes for correctional medical practitioners. According,

to NCCHC standard, the service of an outside practitioner should be obtained. In

addition to this, is the use of the service of correctional medical practitioners in

performing Urinalyses or blood test to detect the use of drug or alcohol, another

instance is the performing of X-ray scan and the collection of DNA analysis. However

these activities according to Puisis are unethical under the NCCHC’s standard because

such processes are performed for forensic purposes. Although correctional medical

practitioners may need the information of the result for medical purposes, so the ethical

approach is the use of the services of an outside medical provider (Puisis, 2006, p.24).