[Anon] [Text]

[crouching_sin]

Here's a question for you all. It's something that I read a while back, and I'm interested in your answers. Anonymous is fine, if you want.

There are five patients in a hospital. All of them are dying due to complications with various organs. All of them will die within the next day or so if they don't get an organ transplant. Magic won't save any of them, incidentally, if you were hoping to use that.

A young backpacker comes into the hospital or a checkup. He has no relatives, and he is in excellent health. As it happens, you, the surgeon on duty, notice that he is a perfect match for all five of the patients.

Assuming the backpacker does not give consent, is it morally permissible to cut him up and transfer the organs to the other patients? These are not organs that the backpacker can live without, so he'll die if you do.

I'm interested to hear what you think.

Comments

[text]

[ajustcaws]

okay wait a sec

you can take someone's organs out... put them in someone else... and it'll WORK????

[anon text forever]

[crouching_sin]

I'm assuming you're from a world with less advanced medicine than mine, so - yes. In many cases, yes.

[logged in text forever]

[ajustcaws]

oh wow that is AWESOME!!!! i'm gonna have to tell my dad about that if he ever shows up here again, he'll think it's just the coolest thing ever!!!

...but wait a sec

if you can take organs from someone and put them in somebody else, why are we hypothetically killing this guy???? it's a hospital, right?? aren't there dead people around who you can take organs from instead??

i mean they're not actually using them and he is

[crouching_sin]

It only works if various things match up. It's often difficult to find just the right person who can take the organ without the body rejecting it.

[ajustcaws]

well, couldn't you do the same tests on already dead people that you did on the backpacker??? or is the backpacker just a magical guy with super organs.

[crouching_sin]

Most organs only work well if they're transferred very recently after death. The organs start to die, too, if they're left too long.

[ajustcaws]

you still probably have a bunch of recently dead people in the hospital, though... i'm still not seeing why trying to go for that isn't a better solution than killing a guy!! you're at least trying to make sure people don't die without killing somebody innocent.

[crouching_sin]

It's a question about how far you'll go to save someone, really. Do the needs of the many outweigh the acts you commit to help them?

[ajustcaws]

well, you should try to save everyone without hurting people, so you just need to find a way to do both.

[crouching_sin]

That's not always possible.

[ajustcaws]

who cares??? you should always do the best to make the impossible possible!!

and if you can't do that, then you worry about scooping out someone else's organs without their consent while they're still alive!!!!!!

[crouching_sin]

[... What does he even say to that.]

You sound like a protagonist from shows that my brother used to watch.

[ajustcaws]

and is that not a goal to aspire to??? who DOESN'T want to try and be the best hero they can be??

i mean aside from villains i guess.

[crouching_sin]

Don't villains have more fun, though?

[ajustcaws]

if you're approaching heroism totally wrong then sure they do. but if you're a hero you should have fun saving people and being a great person!!

[crouching_sin]

But heroes have all of those rules to follow. It's restricting.