Star Trek The Next Generation
S3E7
· The Enemy

Worf Refuses to Be Donor

In Beverly Crusher's office Worf is confronted with an impossible choice: the only compatible ribosome donor for the gravely injured Romulan is him. Beverly pleads clinically and morally, arguing duty and the sanctity of life; Worf replies with a private, violent grief — the murder of his parents — and refuses. His exit leaves Crusher stunned and the patient condemned. The beat crystallizes the episode's central conflict: personal vengeance versus Starfleet duty, and it forces Picard and the crew to live with the ethical consequences of honoring conscience over command.

Plot Beats

The narrative micro-steps within this event

5

Beverly summons Worf to her office, preparing to deliver crucial news about the Romulan survivor's medical needs.

anticipation to concern ["Beverly's office"]

Beverly reveals that Worf is the only compatible ribosome donor for the Romulan survivor, Patahk.

concern to shock

Worf refuses to donate ribosomes, citing the Romulans' murder of his parents as justification for his stance.

shock to defiance

Beverly pleads with Worf to reconsider, emphasizing that this Romulan is innocent and Worf is the only one who can save his life.

pleading to resignation

Worf stands firm in his refusal, stating bluntly that the Romulan will die, and exits, leaving Beverly shocked.

resignation to devastation

Who Was There

Characters present in this moment

2
Worf
Lieutenant, Chief of Security / Tactical Officer
 primary

Anger and deep grief surface as a hard, resolute refusal; controlled exterior but emotionally raw, driven by memory and honor.

Enters stiffly, listens without interruption, refuses the donation after invoking personal trauma (murder of his parents), then stands and exits with resolute finality, ending the plea.

Goals in this moment
  • • Protect his personal sense of honor and avenge familial memory
  • • Refuse complicity in saving a member of a species he believes responsible for his trauma
Active beliefs
  • • Romulans (or those he associates with them) are culpable for his parents' deaths and unworthy of his aid
  • • Personal honor and the memory of his family justify refusal even against Starfleet's humanitarian expectations
Character traits
stolid honorable grief-driven unyielding
Follow Worf's journey
Beverly Crusher
Chief Medical Officer
 primary

Professional urgency layered with stunned disbelief when Worf refuses; calm, moral indignation giving way to momentary speechless shock.

Seated at her office desk, Beverly speaks with clinical urgency and moral insistence, presenting diagnostic results, explaining cross‑species compatibility, and pleading for Worf to donate.

Goals in this moment
  • • Persuade Worf to donate ribosomes to save the Romulan's life
  • • Uphold medical ethics and the sanctity of life despite political tensions
Active beliefs
  • • Medical duty and the imperative to save life supersede personal vendettas
  • • Cross‑species genetic compatibility is sufficient and safe for donation
Character traits
advocate clinical clarity patient-focused empathetic persistence
Follow Beverly Crusher's journey

Objects Involved

Significant items in this scene

1
Beverly Crusher's Office Desk

Beverly's office desk functions as the physical center of the exchange: a low barrier that frames the clinical plea, gives Beverly a seated, authoritative position, and absorbs the charged silence when Worf stands and leaves.

Before: Cleared and functional at the center of the …
After: Untouched physically, but becomes the repository of stunned …
Before: Cleared and functional at the center of the consultation alcove; papers and diagnostic readouts accessible to Beverly.
After: Untouched physically, but becomes the repository of stunned silence and the emotional fallout of Worf's refusal.

Narrative Connections

How this event relates to others in the story

What led here 2
Causal

"Worf's discovery of Patahk leads to the medical dilemma requiring Worf's ribosomes."

Wreckage, Ultri-treachery, and the Pit
S3E7 · The Enemy
Causal

"Worf's discovery of Patahk leads to the medical dilemma requiring Worf's ribosomes."

Worf Secures Patahk — Geordi Falls into the Storm
S3E7 · The Enemy
What this causes 2
Character Continuity medium

"Worf's refusal to donate ribosomes is challenged by Patahk's venomous reaction."

Blood and Honor: Worf Refuses Mercy
S3E7 · The Enemy
Thematic Parallel medium

"Worf's hatred of Romulans is thematically contrasted with Riker's appeal for reconciliation."

Worf's Choice: Blood vs. Duty
S3E7 · The Enemy

Part of Larger Arcs

Worf's internal moral crucible: Klingon honor and blood‑memory versus Starfleet duty and the moral imperative to save life — an unresolved, character‑defining refusal that has lethal diplomatic consequences.

Key Dialogue

"BEVERLY: "We've finally found a compatible ribosome match for the Romulan. But only one. You.""
"BEVERLY: "This Romulan did not kill your parents. And you are the only one who can save his life.""
"WORF: "If you had seen them kill your parents, you would understand, Doctor. It is always the time and place for those feelings.""
"WORF: "Then he will die.""