A U.S. physician relates the culture shock he is experiencing working as an area medical officer in Eastern Africa for the U.S. Peace Corps in his latest online journal entry.
An ethical case explores the many ethical and legal issues that impede the process of organ donation when the family objects to the process, even in light of a signed donor card.
Sheldon Zink, PhD, Rachel Zeehandelaar, and Stacey Wertlieb, MBe
The benefits of the international presumed-consent policy are presented as a solution to the United States' current shortage of organs available for transplantation.
Alcoholics should not be subject to deprioritization on a liver transplant waiting list if the belief is held that alcoholism is a disease and not an issue of moral failure for which the patient should be blamed.
Three reports considered by the Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs are described, along with the process for revising the AMA's Code of Medical Ethics and trivia about contraceptive use.
Courts need to consider the potential risks and benefits to a minor who donates a kidney to a sibling, the probability of a successful outcome, and possible alternatives.
Richard J. Howard, MD, PhD and Danielle Cornell, BSN
Organ procurement organization representatives play a pivotal role in serving families of a deceased donor and mediating disagreements about the donation while physicians' involvement in these discussions is minimal.