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February 8, 2010

EGYPT: Controversial organ transplant bill welcomed by WHO

A controversial organ transplant bill expected to become law in the next few weeks could regularize organ transplants and curb Egypt’s booming illicit trade in human organs, experts say. (Reuters AlertNet)

February 3, 2010

Blacklisted hospital in trouble agin over kidney scam

The state health department has promised action against two hospitals in Coimbatore if they are proved guilty of trading in kidneys but most non-government organizations in the organ transplant sector are “unsure” if any action will be taken. (The Times of India)

January 29, 2010

Bill Gates promises $10 billion for vaccines

Bill and Melinda Gates said on Friday they would spend $10 billion over the next decade to develop and deliver vaccines, an increased commitment that reflects progress in the pipeline of products for immunizing children in the developing world. (Reuters)

January 27, 2010

Haiti’s ‘floating hospital’: Tough questions on USNS Comfort

ABOARD THE USNS COMFORT — Yvelot Brianville, 24, lies quietly on a steel hospital gurney, a boyish naval officer in blue combat fatigues standing by his side. (USA TODAY)

January 25, 2010

An examination of the ethics of doctor/reporter involvement in Haiti

I know that some people may not see any ethical conflict in physician-reporters like CNN’s Sanjay Gupta, CBS’ Jennifer Ashton and ABC’s Richard Besser reporting on their own delivery of health care in Haiti. (MinnPost)

January 24, 2010

New Issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association is Now Available

JAMA (Vol. 303; No. 3; January 20, 2010)  is now available by subscription only.

Articles include:

  • “Garnering Support for Advance Care Planning” by Terri R. Fried and Margaret Drickamer, 269-270.
  • “Public Health Response to Influenza A(H1N1) as an Opportunity to Build Public Trust” by Heidi J. Larson and David L. Heymann, 271-272.
  • “New HIV Recommendations” by Joan Stephenson, 215.
  • “Severe Childhood Obesity” by Joan Stephenson, 215.
  • “Lung Cancer Screening” by Joan Stephenson, 215.

January 20, 2010

Kanazawa hospital to be grilled over transplant arrangement

The health ministry plans to question Kanazawa University Hospital officials to clarify how unlicensed brokers approached doctors there to help patients receive organ transplants overseas. (The Japan Times)

January 17, 2010

New Issue of The Journal of Law, Medicine, & Ethics is Now Available

The Journal of Law, Medicine, & Ethics (Volume 37, Issue 4, Winter 2009) is now available by subscription only.

Articles include:

  • “Commentary: Emerging Technologies Oversight: Research, Regulation, and Commercialization” by Robbin Johnson, 587-593.
  • “Evaluating Oversight of Human Drugs and Medical Devices: A Case Study of the FDA and Implications for Nanobiotechnology” by Jordan Paradise, Alison W. Tisdale, Ralph F. Hall, and Efrosini Kokkoli; 598-624.
  • “Gene Therapy Oversight: Lessons for Nanobiotechnology” by Susan M. Wolf, Rishi Gupta, and Peter Kohlhepp; 659-684.
  • “Science, Ethics, and the ‘Problems’ of Governing Nanotechnologies” by Linda F. Hogle, 749-758.
  • “Introduction: Comparative Health Law and Policy: What, If Anything, Can We Learn from Other Countries?” by Diane Hoffmann, 790-791.
  • “Realization of the International Human Right to Health in an Economically Integrated North America” by Eleanor D. Kinney, 807-818.
  • “Tobacco Industry Use of Corporate Social Responsibility Tactics as a Sword and a Shield on Secondhand Smoke Issues” Lissy C. Friedman, 819-827.


January 12, 2010

Swiss politicians ponder ban on assisted suicide

Recent proposals to restrict or even ban the practice of euthanasia have emerged in Switzerland, where doctors have been permitted to offer the option not only to Swiss residents but also foreigners. (RT Top Stories)

January 10, 2010

New Issue of Journal of the American Medical Association is Now Available

JAMA (Volume 302; Number 23; December 16, 2009) is now available by subscription only.

Articles include:

  • “Health Insurance Cooperatives: Lessons from the Great Depression” by Michael R. Grey, 2587-2588.
  • “The Global Breast Cancer Disparity: Strategies for Bridging the Gap” by Jonas A. Souza and José Bines, 2589-2590.
  • “Mentoring: What’s In a Name?” by Dario Sambunjak and Ana Marusic, 2591-2592.
  • “Late-Life Dementias: Does This Unyielding Global Challenge Require a Broader View?” by Thomas J. Montine and Eric B. Larson, 2593-2594.
  • “Gene Therapy Repair of Donor Lungs Improves Outlook for Transplantation” by M.J. Friedrich, 2530.
  • “Cord Blood Transplants” by Joan Stephenson, 2531.

January 5, 2010

U.S. lifts restriction on visas to HIV-positive foreigners

Foreign nationals who are HIV-positive will find it easier starting Monday to visit the United States.

The Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention removed HIV infection from the list of diseases that prevent non-U.S. citizens from entering the country. (CNN)

December 18, 2009

Wales seeks organ opt-out powers

Wales could become the first part of the UK introduce an opt-out system of organ donation under plans by the assembly government. It would mean that Welsh residents would be presumed to be organ donors unless they have joined an opt out register or immediate relatives object. (BBC)

Op-Ed: Clash of medicine and ethics

The Israeli government deserves congratulation for its courage and innovation in adopting a radical new approach to the problem of organ transplantation.The shortage of organs available for transplant is a global problem and is getting worse. But its move pushes medicine across a new ethical frontier. (The Independent)

December 17, 2009

Women without partners will soon be able to freeze ova

Women aged 30 to 40 who have no partner but want to conceive once they do, will be permitted, in up to half a year, to have ova removed and frozen until they are ready to become mothers. This major change in Health Ministry regulations will take place following new recommendations by the National Bioethics Council, presented this week to ministry director-general Dr. Eitan Ha’am. (Jerusalem Post)

‘Retrograde’ closure of bioethics body criticised

The Irish Council for Bioethics is to close at the end of this month after a decision by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment to terminate its funding. (The Irish Times)

Dissent over animal to human transplants

The Australian National Health and Medical Research Council should have consulted the public before giving the green light to xenotransplantation, says a former member of the Council. (ABC Science)

December 15, 2009

Who gets expensive cancer drugs? A tale of two nations

The well-worn notion that patients in the United States have unfettered access to the most expensive cancer drugs while the United Kingdom’s nationalized health care system regularly denies access to some high-cost treatments needs rethinking, a team of bioethicists and health policy experts says in a new report. (ScienceDaily)

December 14, 2009

UNESCO Chair Hosts Jews, Christians, and Muslims in Jerusalem Bioethics Conferences

Gathering seeks to foster the art of convergence and cooperation in global ethics among the three Monotheistic faiths using an academic model for dissemination and sharing of information and knowledge. (PrWeb)

December 8, 2009

New Issue of Journal of Medical Ethics is Now Available

Journal of Medical Ethics (Volume 35, Number 12, December 2009) is now available by subscription only.

Articles include:

  • “The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008: A Missed Opportunity?” by Amel Alghrani, 718-719.
  • “Clinical Ethics: Genetic Selection for Deafness: The Views of Hearing Children or Deaf Adults” by C Mand, R E Duncan, L Gillam, V Collins, and M B Delatycki; 722-728.
  • “Clinical Ethics: Medical Chaperoning at a Tertiary Care Hospital in Saudi Arabia: Survey of Physicians” by E A Al-Gaai and M M Hammami, 729-732.
  • “Clinical Ethics: Best Interests, Dementia and the Mental Capacity Act (2005)” by T Hope, A Slowther, and J Eccles; 733-738.
  • “Ethics: Who Gets the Liver Transplant? The Use of Responsibility as the Tie Breaker” by V Thornton, 739-742.
  • “Ethics: Can the Catholic Church Agree to Condom Use by HIV-discordant Couples?” by L Bovens, 743-746.
  • “Ethics: Moral Pluralism Versus the Total View: Why Singer is Wrong About Radical Life Extension” by R Blackford, 747-752.
  • “Research Ethics: The ‘How’ and ‘Whys’ of Research: Life Scientists’ Views of Accountability” by J M Ladd, M D Lappé, J B McCormick, A M Boyce, and M K Cho; 762-767.
  • “Research Ethics: Embryonic Stem Cell Research is Not Dehumanising Us” by L Kostergaard, 774-777.
  • “Does Bioethics Exist?” by L Turner, 778-780.

New Issue of American Journal of Transplantation is Now Available

American Journal of Transplantation (Volume 9, Issue 12, December 2009) is now available by subscription only.

Articles include:

  • “Race and Ethnicity in Access to and Outcomes of Liver Transplantation: A Critical Literature Review” by A. K. Mathur, C.J. Sonneday, and R.M. Merion; 2662-2668.
  • “Impact of Medicare Coverage on Disparities in Access to Simultaneous Pancreas and Kidney Transplantation” by J. K. Melancon, L. M. Kucirka, L. E. Boulware, N. R. Powe, J. E. Locke, R. A. Montgomery, and D. L. Segev; 2785-2791.
  • “Predictors of Having a Potential Live Donor: A Prospective Cohort Study of Kidney Transplant Candidates” by P. P. Reese, J. A. Shea, R. D. Bloom, J. S. Berns, R. Grossman, M. Joffe, A. Huverserian, and H. I. Feldman; 2792-2799.
  • “Racial and Ethnic Differences in Mortality in Children Awaiting Heart Transplant in the United States” by T. P. Singh, K. Gauvreau, R. Thiagarajan, E. D. Blume, G. Piercey, and C. S. Almond; 2808-2815.
  • “Reimbursing Live Organ Donors for Incurred Non-Medical Expenses: A Global Perspective on Policies and Programs” by M. Sickand, M. S. Cuerden, S. W. Klarenbach, A. O. Ojo, C. R. Parikh, N. Boudville, and A. X. Garg; 2825-2836.
  • Book Review: “When Altruism Isn’t Enough: The Case for Compensating Kidney Donors” by D. W. Hanto, 2855-2855.

December 4, 2009

New Issue of Clinical Transplantation is Now Available

Clinical Transplantation (Volume 23, Issue 6, November/December 2009) is now available by subscription only.

Articles include:

  • “CMS Oversight, OPOs and Transplant Centers and the Law of Unintended Consequences” by Richard J. Howard, Danielle L. Cornell, and Jesse D. Schold; 778-783
  • “Transplant Tourism to China: The Impact on Domestic Patient-care Decisions” by Scott W. Biggins, Kiran Bambha, Norah Terrault, John Inadomi, John P. Roberts, and Nathan Bass; 831-838
  • “Disparity in Utilization of Combined Kidney-liver Transplantation in the United States” by S.D. Mehta and D.J. Leehey, 938-942

 

The Bioethics Poll
Should individuals and/or institutions be allowed to patent human genes?
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Which area of research should more money be invested in:
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