What would you do?

Hi Girls,

Here’s an ethical question from an article in the papers -

[quote]A group of health professionals were evaluating potential donors for a kidney transplant recently when they received a surprise. Through routine genetic testing, the group inadvertently learned that one of the adult children was not the child of the man with kidney failure.

The transplant team struggled with the question of what to do with this information. Should the family be told? To whom did the knowledge belong? Was it ethical to use the child’s kidney without telling him?

nytimes.com/2003/09/16/healt … 6CASE.html[/quote]

I say, “easy, tell him. The truth shall set you free.”

Would you?

[quote=“Lingchen”]Hi Girls,

Here’s an ethical question from an article in the papers -

[quote]A group of health professionals were evaluating potential donors for a kidney transplant recently when they received a surprise. Through routine genetic testing, the group inadvertently learned that one of the adult children was not the child of the man with kidney failure.

The transplant team struggled with the question of what to do with this information. Should the family be told? To whom did the knowledge belong? Was it ethical to use the child’s kidney without telling him?

nytimes.com/2003/09/16/healt … 6CASE.html[/quote]

I say, “easy, tell him. The truth shall set you free.”

Would you?[/quote]

I’d ask the wife for a date.

Why tell? Unless being a father is contingent upon supplying the sperm. Who knows, maybe mom and dad already knew, and the kid didn’t. Maybe noone knew. Anyway, if there are no medical reasons to tell, the docs should butt out.

After laughing out loud at Blueface’s reply, I agree with Maoman. What possible purpose would be served by telling?

They don’t know whether or not to tell, but yet they publish it in the NY Times. Go figure.

I would eat the kidney, destroy the evidence…

I’m glad you’re all too decent to have suggested blackmailing the wife.

The doctors have an ethical obligation to tell. Since the child is not a blood relative of his father, any future medical problems that would be either traced, hindered or aided by knowing the child’s true medical history is important – it could even one day save his life.
Or you could eat the kidney… :o

I would tell Wolf the truth. But I wouldn’t eat his kidney (I’m more of a liver person).

They’re assuning the family doesn’t already know. What’s that saying about assuming makes an ASS out of U + ME. Assuming the mother is still around I’d only give this info to her for her tell or not. One would assume at least she knows who she slept with.

But that doesn’t mean she knows which one of the guys if the father. I say let sleeping dogs lie, otherwise someone might get bitten and get rabies, and then you’ll have to use up all your holidays getting shots to the stomach (I heard those needles are extremely painful).

Maybe the kid is adopted:

“OK, we’re going to see whose kidney is a good match for Dad … Wait, not so fast, Tommy! We picked you up at the pound.”

I ex-wife didn’t.

Come on. The mother should at least have an inkling about who NOT the father.