Paper Summary:

This paper presents a journal entry that discusses decision-making and ethics within medicine. It presents a personal case scenario involving the decision of a doctor and how it affected the life of one patient over another. The paper discusses the writer's emotions and concerns regarding the case and how the writer came to understand the situation.

From the Paper:

"There were many accountability issues involved in this situation with my uncle. A doctor is required to treat the patient in front of him. This concept could be used for and against my uncle. In one case, my friend was essentially in front of him, as she was officially scheduled to recieve a kidney transplant and the kidney he gave to his father had already been designated to be put in to her body. He had a duty to her to fulfill the promise that had been made to her that the kidney be hers and she have the opportunity to have a full life. On the other hand, my grandfather's health at that time had taken a recent turn for the worse, and his stability was uncertain. It could have been possible that regardless to his particular attachment to either parent, my uncle felt that my grandfather had a more pressing need for the kidney transplant and that he was truly the patient in front of him. Whether or not this decision was made correctly or not, my uncle bears the burden of accountability for the decision he made and the subsequent death of my friend. My friend's family probably holds my uncle responsible and blames him for her death because even though he was in a highly stressful and difficult situation, they feel that he should have given her the kidney and that if he had she would still be alive."

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