Scarcity, Choice and Opportunity Costs

Students will play the role of a hospital administrator that must make the tough decision of alloting 30 hours (Scarcity) of a dialysis machine to kidney patients. There are more patients than hours, therefore students must decide (choice) who is more deserving of the hours. Students will make a list of patients that they have chosen that deserve the hours. Students will then explain their resoning behind their decision to give hours to some but not to others (opportunity cost)

To decide who recieves the treatment of the dialysis machine and reasons why, I have put them in order below:

1) Patient A who needs 10 hours since it seems they need the most time. It's also because they will get a transplant in a year so it's best to keep them alive as they wait for it.

2) Patient E who needs 4 hours a week because they're very young and have many siblings that would miss them.

3) Patient F who needs 5 hours a week because they're still very young and don't have any other family besides their parents.

4) Patient G who needs 6 hours a week because they have two young children who need her very much.

5) Patient H who needs 5 hours a week because they have two young children as well.

Here are the reasons why I didn't choose the other patients:

1)Patient B, although he has children they are already grown up and don't need their parents anymore. However, maybe he could go to another hospital for treatment.

2)Patient C, although they are very young it's still unclear on whether they need it since they're description said "indefinite".

3)Patient D sadly due to her age it doesnt seem like she would have a lot of years left.

4)Patient J, since it seems like he is going to get a transplant soon it'd be best for him to not get the treatment. Also because he can go to a different hospital to get dialysis.

5)Patient K, although the offer of getting a new dialysis machine is pleasing I believe that since he's wealthy he could just go to a better hospital since he says he's able to afford a dialysis machine.