TY - JOUR

T1 - Kidney Exchange and the Ethics of Giving

AU - van Baßhuysen, Philippe Carl

N1 - Funding Information: I thank Luc Bovens, Paul Daniell, Jurgis Karpus, David Kinney, Theron Pummer, Bryan Roberts, Thomas Rowe, Bastian Steuwer, Alex Voorhoeve, and Jannik Zeiser, as well as anonymous referees of this journal, for helpful comments and/or discussions at various stages of this research. I also thank the audience at the Cognition, Value and Behaviour Lab Meeting at LMU Munich for valuable discussions. Part of this research was supported by Volkswagenstiftung within the project “Bias and Discrimination in Big Data and Algorithmic Processing: Philosophical Assessments, Legal Dimensions, and Technical Solutions.”

PY - 2020/7

Y1 - 2020/7

N2 - The best treatment for end-stage renal disease is the transplantation of a live donor kidney, but many people cannot donate to their loved ones because they are incompatible. Kidney exchange promises relief. Kidney exchange programmes use centralised procedures to match donors with recipients in a way that maximises the quantity and quality of transplants. However, the transplant laws in many countries render kidney exchange programmes impossible because of ethical concerns against these programmes or against kinds of kidney donations on which these programmes rely. I give two novel arguments for the implementation of kidney exchange programmes. The first is that they are instrumental in meeting a moral obligation, namely to donate effectively. The second is that they may increase the motivation for altruistic donations, because the donation of one kidney may trigger >1 life savings. Moreover, ethical concerns are considered that are embodied in transplant laws preventing the implementation of kidney exchange, and it is argued that they can be overcome.

AB - The best treatment for end-stage renal disease is the transplantation of a live donor kidney, but many people cannot donate to their loved ones because they are incompatible. Kidney exchange promises relief. Kidney exchange programmes use centralised procedures to match donors with recipients in a way that maximises the quantity and quality of transplants. However, the transplant laws in many countries render kidney exchange programmes impossible because of ethical concerns against these programmes or against kinds of kidney donations on which these programmes rely. I give two novel arguments for the implementation of kidney exchange programmes. The first is that they are instrumental in meeting a moral obligation, namely to donate effectively. The second is that they may increase the motivation for altruistic donations, because the donation of one kidney may trigger >1 life savings. Moreover, ethical concerns are considered that are embodied in transplant laws preventing the implementation of kidney exchange, and it is argued that they can be overcome.

U2 - 10.26556/jesp.v18i1.895

DO - 10.26556/jesp.v18i1.895

M3 - Article

VL - 18

SP - 85

EP - 110

JO - Journal of Ethics and Social Philosophy

JF - Journal of Ethics and Social Philosophy

SN - 1559-3061

IS - 1

ER -