Matters of Life- Blood transfusions and transplanst notes

Blood transfusion- where blood is taken from on person and put into another

Transplants- removing an organ from one person (usually once they are dead, although live donations do take place, such as kidney transplants) and put inside another

Issues:

Blood Transfusions:

-The blood that is received could be unsuitable for the recipient, which could leave to blood clotting and death

-Viruses such as HIV and hepatitus can be passed on from the blood

-It may be difficult to find blood donations for recipients whose blood type is considered rare

Transplant surgery:

-Some people refuse to carry a donor card because they do not want to be buried or cremated 'incomplete'. This idea can be linked to the idea of the afterlife, where Judaism and Islam both forbid "desecrating or mutilating the body'

-There is a risk of rejection

The recipient will still have a shorter life span

-The blood type must be the same

-It is possible that the recipents will have to wait a very long time as the list of people waiting is usually made up of thousands of names

Buddhist beliefs:

- Most Buddhists believe in relief of suffering, however, believers are left to make up their own mind according to their conscience.

-Many Buddhists believe in Karma, and could say that we should accept suffering, as it is either the result of wanting in the past or unskilful…