Organ donation is at the top of the list of current bioethical consideration, as the potential for gain is evident through countless stories of success, and the potential concern from the bioethical community and the public continues to grow as donation technology outgrows availability for potential donors.
             The successful development of transplantation is one of the most miraculous accomplishments of modern medicine. Unfortunately, the ability to deliver this medical miracle is limited by a severe and steadily worsening shortage of organs. 1 According to the United Network for Organ Sharing, as of 31 March 1996, more than 45,000 persons in the United States were on the national waiting list for transplantation 2 ; this list grows by several hundred each month. It is estimated that eight of these people will die each day while waiting for transplantation. 3 Even more tragic is the realization that many of these deaths are preventable. Because only about 40 percent of potential cadaveric organ donors become actual donors, large numbers of life-saving organs are continuously being lost. 4 Clearly, something is wrong with our current organ procurement system. (Caplan & Coelho, 1998, p. 147)
             Many people, languish on the donor lists for years, some to a point of no return, where donation would not produce success even if donor organs where available. This work will discuss some of the many bioethical considerations with regard to organ donation. It will consider if there is any potential harm to the non-living donor, if there is a moral obligation to donate ones organs, and if it is morally and/or bioethically permissible for a person to sign an order that states that if he or she should suffer from brain death or be in a persistent vegetative state, that he or she would like to be taken off life support at any point where that might allow his or her organs to be harvested.
             The foundations of personal identity are often centered ...