ABSTRACT
This chapter consists of two sections. The first addresses the ethical basis of the distribution of resources in health care. In terms of moral philosophy, the assignation and prioritization of resources and basic goods is a competency of distributive justice. The different criteria used – need, merit, acquisitive power, or the optimization of outcomes – reflect competing theories of distributive justice. The authors review these currents of thought, the principles on which they are based, and their leading proponents.
The second section of the chapter analyzes the ethical problems associated with organ transplants as a paradigm of the ethical questions that are often raised by clinical practice. It describes the concept of brain death, which continues to be a source of controversy in the field of philosophy, the different country models for obtaining consent to donation and the criteria that should be considered on the assignation of an organ for transplant. Finally, the ethical aspects of transplant from a live donor are analyzed, such as donor coercion and the purchase of organs.
