So the other day we’re driving to the dojo and see a license plate that says, “Be an organ donor” so we joked that we would go in and just donate a liver like one might go in and donate blood. So then here’s a weird thought: could one conceivably commit suicide by organ donation? That is, donate a vital organ, or better yet, donate all your organs. The doctors would be labeled as highly unethical, but on the other hand if the “patient” comes up to them and tells them they are suicidal and will kill themselves one way or another, it’s in the doctor’s hands whether or not the waste of life is a complete waste. All organs could be salvaged as well as marrow and all the blood. Gruesome, yes, but remember that the selfish act of suicide would be mitigated by the selflessness of offering your entire body to those in need who do want to live. Suppose each organ goes to a separate person, saving each of their lives. Would this form of suicide then be looked down upon? The only problem is finding doctors who would utterly violate the Hippocratic oath and intentionally kill and essentially gut their patients even if it was the patient’s expressed wish. They would be reviled even more than abortion doctors. But perhaps some ethical concerns might be evaded if one considers that the killing of one patient ultimately benefits many more. Consider it an expansion on the logic of triage: the patient has a low chance of survival (because he’s suicidal) while other patients who will die without treatment (an organ transplant or blood transfusion) still have a chance if the doctor administers treatment in time. In a triage scenario, the doctor administers treatment to the other patients and neglects the patient with a lower chance of survival, essentially killing him. In this way a doctor sacrifices the life of one to save the life of another, this doctor would not be considered unethical, in fact they might be praised for their cool professional approach and understanding that not everyone can be saved. In a triage situation the tradeoff of life might be one to one, but in this scenario the sacrifice of one ultimately benefits many more.
So would people opt to commit suicide in this fashion? Would the doctors be willing to go through with it? Would the general public accept it even when weighing in the benefit it would have to those on an organ waiting list? Do the needs of the many truly outweigh the needs of the few?