This is what’s on the syllabus pertaining to the Discussion Topics for this class: You will find several topics already started for each week’s Forum. They are labeled according to their corresponding week. These questions are started by the instructor. They are to initiate discussions by starting a string of replies from participants. You are to “Reply” only to these types of questions. Do not start your own Discussion Topic.

Discussion Topic: The Heart Transplant

The hospital ethics committee was discussing an important and urgent  case. A donor heart had become available, but an extremely rare thing  had happened. Two heart-transplant candidates in the hospital were both  matches for the donor heart. One patient was known to the committee as  Mr. X, the other as Ms. Y.

For someone with heart failure, Mr. X had been on the transplant  waiting list a long time. He had been waiting one year and was near  death. Ms. Y had just been placed on the list and could be sustained  with medication for quite some time, possibly until another heart became available. The answer seemed obvious-give the heart to Mr. X.

A number of the members of the committee did not agree with this  answer. They argued that time on the transplant list should be only one  factor considered. They saw a problem in Mr. X’s medical record.

Mr. X was 64 years old and had suffered from a heart condition for  years. He had had two angioplasties and two bypass operations to correct a blockage of the heart’s blood vessels. The problem seen by some  committee members was that Mr. X still smoked, ate fatty foods, and was  very overweight. After each procedure, doctors had warned Mr. X that he  must change his life-style, and that if he didn’t, his condition would  worsen. He never stopped smoking, however, and never changed his diet.  He said it was too hard.

Research has proven that smoking and high cholesterol are risk  factors for heart problems. Blockage of the coronary arteries is  directly attributed to these two factors. Treatments such as angioplasty (opening the blood vessels by passing a tube into the arteries) and  bypass surgery (connecting new blood vessels that go around the clogged  ones) can correct the problem, but they are not a total cure. To avoid  further problems, patients must control their diet, stop smoking, and  alleviate stress. This, of course, is not easy. Mr. X appeared not even  to try.

The heart was about to be airlifted to the hospital. The committee had to make their decision very soon.

Questions

1. What should the committee do?       

2. How would you vote if you were on the committee?

(200-word minimum for each question please)