Question

Mr. A.B. is 57 years old from a middle-east country, married and has three children: a 22-year-old son, a student; a 27-year-old son, married and father of two young children; and a 32-year- old daughter, unmarried. Mr. A.B. has been suffering from acute chronic renal failure for two years and needs dialysis three to four times a week – nevertheless he is unable to work and live a normal life. For two years he has been living on social welfare. His three children were medically examined and found to serve as potential kidney donors to their father. The question was: Which of the three children should be chosen as donor? They were sent to the psychologist for a psychological examination of their mental well-being –and the youngest son was diagnosed to be the most resilient for this purpose. However, the psychologist was later informed that the family had decided on choosing the 32-year-old daughter as donor. According to their ethnic background, the daughter as an unmarried female is considered to have an inferior family status. Moreover, the psychologist was informed in a face-to-face talk to her, that her right to refuse had not been considered by the family.

Please discuss the alternatives and justify your answer! (around 200 words)

How should the psychologist respond?

a) The psychologist informs the family and the father that their decision to choose their daughter as donor is ethically respected because it is culturally reasonable.

b) The psychologist pleads for a universal ethical code according to which the family has to respect the individual’s right to refuse to be a donor which also applies to their daughter.

c) The psychologist appeals to the local welfare services to offer the daughter legal and social assistance to convince the family not to force her.

d) The psychologist convinces the medical doctors that they should feign serious disease of the daughter which would exclude her as donor because of “medical reasons”.

Answer 1

The psychologist pleads for a universal ethical code according to which the family has to respect the individual’s right to refuse to be a donor which also applies to their daughter.