Linda C. Fentiman

In the following viewpoint, Linda C. Fentiman argues that the need for organ donation is too great to depend on the current system of altruistic donation. Fentiman contends that presumed consent, which assumes that a potential organ donor would have consented to donate his or her organs if asked, is the best method of increasing the rate of donation and the pool of potential donors. Organ donation would remain a voluntary act, she explains, because objectors would have many ways of opting out of the program. Fentiman is a professor at Suffolk University Law School in Boston.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. Why is an expensive organ transplant a cost effective method of saving a person’s life, in the author’s opinion?
2. According to Fentiman, why has the...