Presumed Consent 1
Unit Four Project Plan
I.Cover page with header, title, your name, and course name (see model on next page)
II.Body with these sections
A.Thesis Statement (a paragraph about the point you’re trying to prove)
B. Claims (3 paragraphs, one for each claim you are making in support of your thesis)
C.Challenge(s) (summarize at least one argument against your thesis, with an explanation of how you will counter it)
D.Sources (see KU Handbook, pp. 99–100; note: you will need at least five sources for your final paper. If you find better sources, you are free to use them.)
1.First source
a.Full APA-style reference citation
b.Explanation of why this source is credible or will be useful to you
2.Second source
a.Full APA-style reference citation
b.Explanation of why this source is credible or will be useful to you
III.Reference list (see model or KU Handbook, p. 234)
Presumed Consent 1
Unit 4 Project: Organ Donation and Presumed Consent
Jane Doe
CM220-AM
Unit 4 Project: Organ Donation and Presumed Consent
Thesis Statement
Presumed consent, a policy that assumes an individual is willing to donate his or her organs upon death unless otherwise specified, is an ideal solution to the growing need for organ donors. Presumed consent can save many lives by improving the quantity and quality of the organ pool, guaranteeing that an individual's final wishes are granted and also alleviate the burden family members face while making heart-breaking decisions for their loved ones.
Claims or Main Points
The first claim I plan to pursue is that presumed consent is better than xenotransplantation increasing the number of available organs. I will develop this idea by showing that there are too many problems with the technology, that even if it is a fix for the future, it does not help us now. I would also like to discuss (briefly) viruses and genetic retroviruses, and the ethics of exploiting animals. I will need to dig around for information about xenotransplantation (I only know a little about it) and try to find more information on the dangers of viruses and retroviruses.
The second claim deals with why presumed consent is the most logical action. First, it protects human rights—the person who died as well as his or her family. Second....
Challenges
One challenge I might face is that people think the system currently in place is just fine, so why change it? I think this is faulty logic. There are so many people waiting for organ donations … what do we tell them? I am hoping to look at other countries (like Belgium) who practice presumed consent to show how this system can work better than what we currently have in place.
Sources
Deschamps, J., Roux, F., Sai, P., & Gouin, E. (2005). History of xenotransplantation. Xenotransplantation, 12 (2), p. 91-109.
This appears to be a strong source that explains how xenotransplantation came about and how it works. It should fit right in to my paper when I discuss some of the alternatives to our current system of organ donations. This is not a perfect solution and one thing the article points out is that there are some real technological hurdles to overcome before it can work
OPTN: OrganProcurement and Transplantation Network. (2003) OPTN: Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network. The Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network. Retrieved February 15, 2007 from
This article has lots of valuable information that supports the idea that a national registry would not be all that hard to get going. A database could be similar to the National "Do Not Call Registry" in that it records a person's name and other identifying information and gives an easy method for registering. I want check out the United Network for Organ Sharing to see how these two groups work together.
References
Deschamps, J., Roux, F., Sai, P., & Gouin, E. (2005). History of xenotransplantation. Xenotransplantation, 12 (2), p. 91-109.
OPTN: OrganProcurement and Transplantation Network. (2003) OPTN: Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network. The Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network. Retrieved February 15, 2007 from