The Gift-of-Life and Family Authority: A Family-Based Consent Approach to Organ Donation and Procurement in China

Journal of Medicine and Philosophy 44 (5):554-572 (2019)
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Abstract

China is developing an ethical and sustainable organ donation and procurement system based on voluntary citizen donation. The gift-of-life metaphor has begun to dominate public discussion and education about organ donation. However, ethical and legal problems remain concerning this “gift-of-life” discourse: In what sense are donated organs a “gift-of-life”? What constitutes the ultimate worth of such a gift? On whose authority should organs as a “gift-of-life” be donated? There are no universal answers to these questions; instead, responses must be compatible with local cultural values. This paper argues that from a Confucian point of view, organs should be viewed as a gift from the donor’s family, and that final dispositional authority should also rest with the donor’s family. The worth of such a “gift” rests on the virtue of ren, the origin of which is family love. Ultimately, I will argue that a family-based consent model for deceased organ donation is not merely justified, but morally required in the Chinese cultural context.

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Jue Wang
University of Wisconsin, Madison

References found in this work

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A source book in Chinese philosophy.Wing-Tsit Chan - 1963 - Princeton, N.J.,: Princeton University Press. Edited by Wing-Tsit Chan.
Confucius--the secular as sacred.Herbert Fingarette - 1972 - New York,: Harper & Row.
Confucius: The Secular as Sacred.Herbert Fingarette - 1974 - Religious Studies 10 (2):245-246.

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