Reply to Should a child with an intellectual disability be denied an organ transplant?

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[quote=Anonymous]This is tough - I understand why docs wouldn't want to put her on the list (or possibly low priority on the list), but I don't see any reason to deny her a kidney from a willing donor from her own family.

That said, given that due to privacy laws, the hospital can't really discuss their decision making process in detail, I wonder if there's more to this story such as extreme surgical risk, high probability of long term extreme pain, high risk of rejection, etc. Don't get me wrong, I believe it is ethically wrong to deny a mentally disabled person an organ just because they have intellectual disabilities.  But I also don't think it's always good to prolong life at all costs either, especially if this poor little girl won't understand what is happening to her, why she is in such pain, etc.  Again, if that is short term pain or illness until recovery and her health measurably improves, then it is worth it.  But if it just would make her life a little longer, and possibly more miserable, I don't know if it's worth it.  And we don't know what the doctors were thinking - with more nuance, they could be both right and wrong.

All that said, I definitely support this little girl's mother in advocating so fiercely for her daughter. She seems like a wonderful, caring mom, and I am sure that if I were in her place, I would be doing the exact same thing.  I would donate my kidney to my kid in an instant, as I'm sure we all would in her shoes.[/quote]

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