Rachel Koch, MD, John G. Meara, MD, DMD, MBA, and Anji E. Wall, MD, PhD
Single-procedure interventions with minimal follow-up and clear quality-of-life gain are well suited for surgical mission trips. But not all risks and benefits are easily assessed.
AMA J Ethics. 2019; 21(9):E729-734. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2019.729.
AMA Journal of Ethics theme editor Natasha Dolgin, an MD/PhD candidate at the University of Massachusetts School of Medicine, interviewed Dorry Segev, MD, PhD, about organ allocation policy and geographic disparities in access, possible ways to maximize equity, and advice physicians should give their patients between policy changes.
Should a family’s ability to afford follow-up care for a child who needs “miracle surgery” play a role in the physician’s decision to operate? Would the answer change depending on the patient’s immigration status?
Dr Esha Bansal joins Ethics Talk to discuss her article, coauthored with Drs Saran Kunaprayoon and Linda P. Zhang: “Opportunities for Global Health Diplomacy in Transnational Robotic Telesurgery.”
Eitan Neidich, Alon B. Neidich, David A. Axelrod, MD, and John P. Roberts, MD
Geographic disparities in availability of organs for transplant have spawned for-profit companies that help patients get on waitlists in more than one region and arrange travel for them if an organ becomes available.
The United States government’s insistence that organs can only be procured through altruism, rather than being exchanged or purchased, contributes to the very exploitation of people of color in developing countries it sought to prevent.
Bruce C. Vladeck, PhD, Sander Florman, MD, and Jonathan Cooper, JD
The United Network for Organ Sharing’s geographic allocation system is outdated and inequitable, particularly in light of improved ability to transport organs. Allocation should be based on common medical criteria, not accidents of geography.
