Consent and living organ donation

This paper focuses on voluntary consent in the context of living organ donation. Arguing against three dominant views, I claim that voluntariness must not be equated with willingness, that voluntariness does not require the exercise of relational moral agency, and that, in cases of third-party pressure, voluntariness critically depends on the role of the surgeon and the medical team, and not just on the pressure from other people. I therefore argue that an adequate account of voluntary consent cannot understand voluntariness as a purely psychological concept, that it has to be consistent with people pursuing various different conceptions of the good and that it needs to make the interaction between the person giving consent and the person (or people) receiving consent central to its approach.

Automated summary

This paper argues that in the context of living organ donation, voluntariness should not be equated with willingness, does not require the exercise of relational moral agency, and in cases of third-party pressure, the role of the surgeon and the medical team is critical. The author emphasizes that an adequate account of voluntary consent must take into consideration individuals pursuing different conceptions of the good and the interaction between the person giving consent and the person receiving consent.