1. Please help me In your opinion, are transplants with living, willing donors ethical? Please explain why they are or why they are not.

2. Would you accept a donation from a living donor if it would extend your life? Please explain why or why not?

Case: Parental living kidney donation

Mrs. G.H. and Mr. I.H., parents of the four- year-old R., are both willing to undergo parental live kidney donation. They have explained that this is "natural" to them; it is a matter of "parental responsibility". Mrs. G.H. has explicitly said that if one has brought a child to this world, one should do what one can for the child's health and well-being. Both parents have also explained that they are more than happy to start the medical test and examination procedure, which will show whether they are medically acceptable as donors.

However, when Mrs. G.H. underwent the procedure, the doctors found that she could not be accepted as donor since she has a cyst on one of her kidneys. For Mrs. G.H., these were "just terrible" news. The medical professionals turned to Mr. I.H. Had he considered parental live kidney donation? Mr. I.H. explained that he really wanted to donate.

Today, however, Mr. I.H. gets the response that he is medically unacceptable as donor because he has rheumatic fever. Mr. I.H. already knows this and he gets upset. He explains that, in his view, it is better that he donate now, while both of his kidneys are ok. They may get destroyed later on in life, he says, and "it is better that my daughter gets one of them, while they're healthy, and she lives." He adds that he thinks he has the right to decide on his own what happens to his body.

The ethical committee and physician involved are unsure how to decide as the surgeons do not want to harm the donor which means exposing the father to serious health risks. On the other hand the parents insist in their "parental responsibility".

3. If you were on the board of advisors in the scenario given above, please help me explain how would you vote on this case and why would you vote that way?