Data for: An empirically informed analysis of the ethical issues surrounding split liver transplantation in the United Kingdom

<b>This is an <a href="https://qdr.syr.edu/ati">Annotation for Transparent Inquiry (ATI)</a> data project. </b> <h3>The annotated article can be viewed on the <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/cambridge-quarterly-of-healthcare-ethics/article/an-empirically-informed-analysis-of-the-ethical-issues-surrounding-split-liver-transplantation-in-the-united-kingdom/5642AEED588AE562B8D72A94A7163F34/core-reader#annotations:group:zvEVDE2R" >publisher's website</a>. <h3/>

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<p>This manuscript was written as part of an ‘empirical bioethics’ project on the ethics of split liver transplantation. Empirical bioethics is a relatively new approach to bioethical enquiry, whereby empirical data (often qualitative, gathered via interviews or focus groups) is combined with a philosophical ethical analysis. Conventional, philosophical bioethics has been subject to some criticism on the grounds that it is empirically-starved, and therefore lacks ability to address nuanced ethical issues as they manifest in practice. Whether these criticisms are entirely fair is debatable, but empirical bioethics has arisen as a response. The role of empirical data in bioethical analysis can be complex because it tends to describe how things are, whereas normative bioethics makes claims about how things should be. The purpose of empirical data in this manuscript was to highlight some of the ethical issues that arise in relation to split liver transplantation, and to feed ideas from those who experience these ethical issues into a brief subsequent ethical analysis.</p><p>The evidence-base for this manuscript was existing medical literature on split liver transplantation, and – most significantly in this manuscript – qualitative interviews conducted with liver patients and staff working in transplantation. These participants were identified by the research team as key stakeholders in the practice of split liver transplantation.</p>