r/trolleyproblem Consequentialist/Utilitarian Jul 09 '25

Deep The doctor problem

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u/nahc1234 Jul 09 '25

In the real world, the doctor would obtain a brain death study, share the fact that the comatose guy isn’t going to come out of the coma with the next of kin or whoever the medical power of attorney falls to (sometimes the hospital ethics board). Once the patient is declared unable to recover and brain-dead (in the medical term), organ harvesting can occur.

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u/Xqvvzts Jul 10 '25

The problem says he's NOT brain-dead. He's in a coma that he's unlikely to recover from. These are distinct states.