Memorandum Case Study

I am writing this memorandum to document to the hospital and my colleagues the process in which I have taken to pick a heart transplant. The decision must be made in a timely manner. However, it needs to be made in proficient ethic manner as well. I have 3 patients awaiting a heart transplant and will need to schedule surgery immediately after the decision is made. The three patients are Jerry a male at age 55, Lisa a female at age 12, and Ozzy a male at age 38. Jerry is a mid-level manager for a carpet distribution facility and is soon retiring. He seems to be the only source of income in his house for his wife has no education beyond high-school and is a stay at home mother. He also has 3 kids, 1 of which is currently in college. The heart damage was caused by a use of steroids in his 20s when he was into body building. It is very likely that if Jerry receives the heart transplant that he will live 10-15 years longer.

It is crucial that he receives a heart transplant immediately since he is the only source of income for his house-hold. Lisa has suffered from illness all of her life. She also has Lupus like symptoms in the sense that she is a poor immune system when it comes to getting viral infections. She is the only child in the family and her parents can no longer bear any more children. She developed the heart issues due to a bad dispute of pneumonia last year when her heart completely stopped. Also due to having health problems all of her life it is not likely that she will live beyond the age 20 if she receives the heart transplant. Her father is also a fellow co-worker at the same hospital as an oncologist and is willing to offer $2,000,000 if his daughter receives this heart transplant. It is apparent that his money is needed to improve on various things of the hospital.

Ozzy has no family and developed his heart issues through drug abuse. He has been homeless all of his life but was brought into the hospital through a local charity that assists people with no assets or insurance. He is currently helping with a after school homework hangout in which he has promised to continue to help a year after receiving the heart transplant. It is possible that he could live 10 years after the heart transplant and maybe even more. However, if he were to continue to use street drugs then he would damage the new heart and die pretty quickly. There is potential good in all three candidates. Based on the natural “goodness” that every human has, I have decided to go with Jerry (Kakos, 2014).

Jerry has the greatest outcome of all the candidates and has the greatest possibility to yield a longer life if the heart transplant is given to him. Lisa, even though her parents offered a large sum of money to the hospital, is least likely to yield a longer life if received the heart transplant. Ozzy is a risk to receive a new heart due to his past in using drugs and has a possibility to using them gain. I hope that his does not reflect as a negative outcome between the relationships of I and the upcoming Oncologist Dr. Doe. I also want this to be a reflection of any further decisions to be made in this hospital.

References
Kakos, S. (n.d.). The Source of Ethics. Harmonia Philosophica. Retrieved May 15, 2014, from http://harmoniaphilosophica.wordpress.com/2011/11/17/the-source-of-ethics-2jszrulazj6wq-36/