Organ transplants have progressed from very experimental therapy in the 1970s and 1980s to its current status as established and often highly effective treatments. Numerous difficulties and controversies, however, still haunt the field. Most are driven by the fact that the number of organs available for transplant, from both deceased and living donors, falls far short of meeting the demand from those who need organs to stay alive. This scarcity gives rise to numerous proposals for increasing supply: paying organ donors or their estates, adopting an "opt-out" system in which organs can be procured routinely unless donors have registered prior objection, limiting receipt of organs to those who had previously agreed to donate, changing the definition of death so that better organs can be removed earlier, and other proposals. This session will look carefully at the moral trade-offs at stake in both our current system of organ procurement and those reform proposals.
Paul Menzel has taught philosophy at Pacific Lutheran U, since 1971, including courses on Biomedical Ethics, Business Ethics, and Human Rights. He has published many articles in health care ethics and two books on moral questions about health care economics. He has served the university, including Provost 1994-2002. This year he enters phased retirement, during which time he will teach one class each January until 2012. His avocational interests include political issues, cooking, art and architecture and travel. Since 2004 Paul's and his late wife Susan Blank's permanent home has been near Coupeville on Whidbey Island.
Friday, November 21, 2008
From the peaks of adrenalin to the lap of luxury, New Zealand is a country of seismic beauty: glacial mountains, deep, clear lakes, hissing geysers and boiling mud. There are also abundant native forests and long deserted beaches. Bette and Bill toured the North and South islands of New Zealand in October and November of 2007. They will share their travel experiences with you as you go from Auckland to Milford Sound. They have captured the scenery of these two islands. The Lord of the Rings trilogy was filmed in New Zealand.
Bill and Bette are both retired educators. Bette has done extensive traveling and taught in China for two years. Bill is generally wrapped around the engine or wing of an airplane if he is not out towing gliders into the sky. After retiring in Illinois they returned to Washington to settle in a home with a full view of Mr. Rainier.