Preparing for sudden death or organ donation: an ethical dilemma in social work
Some of the most ethical dilemmas social workers face are those concerning the issues of life and death. Social workers who work in hospitals deal with these grueling situations on a daily basis. One situation in particular is regarding organ donation. How does a social worker approach a grieving family about donating their loved ones organs when the family has had only such a short time to comprehend what has happened?
Many donors are young and healthy meaning that the death is more than likely a sudden and unexpected loss. The social worker faces the dilemma of how to approach the prospective donor’s family. The social worker has to provide both bereavement counseling and organ procurement. As they are counseling the family they must also decide when the right time is to bring up the possibility of organ donation. It is the social workers responsibility to comfort the family and show that they care about them, so then turning around asking about organ donation may seem unethical to some family members and they may feel betrayed.
Another ethical dilemma social workers may face is if they are working with both the donor’s family and the recipient’s family. In the medical community, the transplantation surgeon is not involved in pronouncing the client dead. Why is this the case with social work, each client should have the right to their own social worker that they can rely on without the fear of conflicting interests.
The medical staff also needs to obtain information about the bereaved family so they can facilitate the organ procurement. This becomes unethical in the social work profession because it breaks confidentiality. This questions the social workers loyalty and social works requirement to respect the privacy of clients.
One other ethical problem that social workers deal with is the supply and demand for organ donations. Organs are very scarce leading to hospitals competing for patients and organs. How do you decide how to ration organs? Four approaches that are identified include:
-The market approach-providing an organ to everyone who can pay for it.
-The selection committee approach- The hospital forma s committee to secede such issues.
-The lottery approach- When equality is placed ahead of every value and a client’s potential survival and quality of life are ignored.
-The customary approach- Permitting physicians get to select their patients on medical criteria.
Medical technology is constantly changing and improving the quality of life to those who may have otherwise died. The number of donated organs may continue to increase and social workers involvement with organ transplants will increase also. The social worker must learn to distinguish between informing the donor’s family about organ donation possibility and undue pressure for its procurement.
I really think it is important to educate the public about organ donation so people will be prepared if they are ever in a situation where their loved ones are in need of an organ transplant. Death is perceived as an inevitable event, but many people don’t want to think about it. However, if it was talked about more and decisions were made before hand than this could decrease the pressure of their bereaved families at a vulnerable and traumatic time.
References
Landau, R. (1996). Preparing for sudden death or organ donation: An ethical dilemma in social work. International Social Work, 39(4), 431-441. doi:10.1177/002087289603900407
Some of the most ethical dilemmas social workers face are those concerning the issues of life and death. Social workers who work in hospitals deal with these grueling situations on a daily basis. One situation in particular is regarding organ donation. How does a social worker approach a grieving family about donating their loved ones organs when the family has had only such a short time to comprehend what has happened?
Many donors are young and healthy meaning that the death is more than likely a sudden and unexpected loss. The social worker faces the dilemma of how to approach the prospective donor’s family. The social worker has to provide both bereavement counseling and organ procurement. As they are counseling the family they must also decide when the right time is to bring up the possibility of organ donation. It is the social workers responsibility to comfort the family and show that they care about them, so then turning around asking about organ donation may seem unethical to some family members and they may feel betrayed.
Another ethical dilemma social workers may face is if they are working with both the donor’s family and the recipient’s family. In the medical community, the transplantation surgeon is not involved in pronouncing the client dead. Why is this the case with social work, each client should have the right to their own social worker that they can rely on without the fear of conflicting interests.
The medical staff also needs to obtain information about the bereaved family so they can facilitate the organ procurement. This becomes unethical in the social work profession because it breaks confidentiality. This questions the social workers loyalty and social works requirement to respect the privacy of clients.
One other ethical problem that social workers deal with is the supply and demand for organ donations. Organs are very scarce leading to hospitals competing for patients and organs. How do you decide how to ration organs? Four approaches that are identified include:
-The market approach-providing an organ to everyone who can pay for it.
-The selection committee approach- The hospital forma s committee to secede such issues.
-The lottery approach- When equality is placed ahead of every value and a client’s potential survival and quality of life are ignored.
-The customary approach- Permitting physicians get to select their patients on medical criteria.
Medical technology is constantly changing and improving the quality of life to those who may have otherwise died. The number of donated organs may continue to increase and social workers involvement with organ transplants will increase also. The social worker must learn to distinguish between informing the donor’s family about organ donation possibility and undue pressure for its procurement.
I really think it is important to educate the public about organ donation so people will be prepared if they are ever in a situation where their loved ones are in need of an organ transplant. Death is perceived as an inevitable event, but many people don’t want to think about it. However, if it was talked about more and decisions were made before hand than this could decrease the pressure of their bereaved families at a vulnerable and traumatic time.
References
Landau, R. (1996). Preparing for sudden death or organ donation: An ethical dilemma in social work. International Social Work, 39(4), 431-441. doi:10.1177/002087289603900407