The implementation of breakthrough quality improvement initiatives has been successful in closing the gap between the number of organs that are available and the number of patients who need them.
The history of the AMA's policy on anencephalic newborns as organ donors is a living example of what medical science can do sometimes conflicts with society's support or nonsupport of those possibilities.
When patients and physicians disagree on the use of genetic engineering technology, physicians must act in accordance with professional ethics and society's guidelines.
An ethical case describes an accident where a minor is killed while bungee jumping and her older brother must decide if her wishes to be an organ donor should be honored.
Genetic information is redefining what society and the medical profession considers to be normal and what departures from the norm are deserving of medical intervention.
Readers are referred to an article by Reg Green in a 1995 issue of JAMA to consider the experience of health care from the patient's perspective as told by the father of an organ donor.