...Head Transplants: A Frankensteinian Endeavor The booming hustle of science is proceeding faster than society can keep up with; new technologies are fast approaching, making the old collect dust. With science becoming more experimental and venturesome, the advancement is becoming more and more far-fetched. It is the prime time for some scientists and scholars to begin ostentatious trials, or continue with the unrealistic experiments of illogical professors. Astonishing procedures continue to blow the minds of individuals, such as head transplants. A head transplant is a surgical procedure entailing a patients’ entire body below the neck be replaced with another donor body (Head Transplant). The medical advancement in our nation leads the beliefs that this ground-breaking neurosurgery could be done, patients and donors are missing the proper evidence for the medical justification but would still consider this an option to prolong their life, and the medical controversy pilots the “should we” factor in debate. Add a stronger transition to this topic During the 1950s, at the peak of the Cold War, Stalin turned his attention towards medical advancements to pull the USSR ahead of the west. Amazing medical advancements put the USSR and the U.S. in a race, both eager to stay ahead in all aspects during the Cold War. The U.S. government created a world-leading brain research centre starring Robert White, a leading brain surgeon with renowned skills. Operations on patients with all kinds...
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...who should get an organ donation first, health care professionals utilizes ethics of principles as a guide. The four ethics of principles states that people's autonomy should be respected, no harm should be done, health care professionals should do good, and justice should always prevail. The allocation of organ transplant is a form of treatment that also helps restore patient's life to a certain extent because there is always a chance that the recipient's system might reject the organ. Statistics shows that, in the US, at every given point in time, the ratio of available organ and the recipients are never proportionate. That is, the organs available are never enough for the amounts of recipients. Needless to say, the waiting list is always long, and proper strategies are always used in picking who gets the organ first. This situation as brought a lot of controversies as no one wants to die waiting for an organ and everyone thinks that their loved ones deserve to go first. Factors such as blood type, waiting time, right size donor and so on plays a big part in determining the priority of allocation. On the other hand, one of the biggest controversies that seem unethical is: whether or not the organ should be given to the sickest person on the list or to a patient who is less sick and consequently having a higher chances of living longer? When examining and evaluating how this issue applies to the principles of ethics, one can tell that simply allocating the organ to the sickest individual...
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...Transplantation is defined as, the process of taking an organ or living tissue and implanting it in another part of the body or in another body. (Oxford, 2018). Xenotransplantation is a particular type of transplantation “the process of grafting or transplanting organs or tissues between members of different species” (Oxford, 2018) Solid organs like a heart or liver, as well as tissue, such as skin, and or their components or groups of specialised cells can be transplanted under this umbrella term. An example of this could be transplanting a heart valve from pig to replace a heart valve in a human patient. A significantly large number of people die each year waiting for a vital organ transplant from a human donor, therefore, making the xenotransplantation...
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...Organ Donation: Legalizing Human Kidney Sales The process of organ donation has existed for many years and throughout that time the system has endured controversies and changes. One of those changes occurred in the late 1960s when the development of immunosuppressive drugs made it possible for people to donate organs to patients who were not related to them (Fentiman 43). This discovery benefited many patients in need of a transplant, but also opened the door to controversies such as organ sales. The first proposal to sell organs came from Virginia physician Dr. H. Barry Jacobs in 1983. He suggested that whoever could afford to buy a kidney should be allowed to do so. As a result of Dr. Jacobs’s proposal, Congress banned the sale of organs in 1984, and that law still exists today (Meckler A.1). Another change in organ donation happened in 1968, when the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act was introduced. This tried to increase the donor pool and make donating a person’s organs at his or her time of death easier. The act, however, did not raise the donation pool enough to keep up with the organ transplant waiting list (Fentiman 43). The waiting list is the topic of another controversy that has been occurring for several years and still exists today. Currently, there are 98,010 people on the waiting list, and 74,260 of those people are waiting for a kidney transplant (Alexander A1; “Paying Donors . . . ” 8A). Chelsea Lopez is one of those patients hoping to receive that life-saving donation...
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...The Controversy of Genetically Modified Organisms Genetic engineering is an asset to mankind and scientific technology that continues to be unabated to the present. Genetic engineering is the process of putting additional DNA in an organism for a specific purpose. This is done by physically removing a gene from one organism and inserting it into another, giving it the ability to express the trait encoded by that gene (Goldbas). The first successful genetically modified organism was completed by Stanley Cohen and Herbert Boyer in 1973. Stanley Cohen and Herbert Boyer developed recombinant DNA technology that revealed genetically engineered DNA molecules can be cloned in foreign cells. Their experiment displayed that the gene for frog ribosomal...
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...| Medicare Funded Organ Transplants | Ethical Issues | | Pamela Caldwell | 10/16/2011 | Keller Graduate School of Management | Medicare Funded Organ Transplants: Ethical Issues Introduction “Ethical issues are the branch of philosophy that defines what is good for the individual and for society and establishes the nature of obligations, or duties, that people owe themselves and one another. In modern society, ethics define how individuals, professionals, and corporations choose to interact with one another.” (Ethics, Legal legal definition of Ethics, Legal. Ethics, Legal synonyms by the Free Online Law Dictionary.) The ethical issue with Medicare funded organ transplants is who it should be eligible and the problem that the needed immunosuppressant drug is only available for a limited amount of time through Medicare funding. The value of a person’s life has been fragmented down to if they have worked long enough, have enough wealth and/or resources to deserve an organ transplant; and the required drugs. This is troublesome in the regard to should everyone have an equal shot to a prolonged life and quality of care. Only those who have the ability to pay will be put on the waiting list for an organ. Define Problem How can Medicare better handle the ethical issues faced with funding organ transplants and the medication needed? “Since 1973, end-stage renal disease has been the only condition specifically covered by Medicare regardless of age...
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...cloning has become something of a buzzword, especially in scientific circles. Formerly a staple of science fiction stories, it entered the public consciousness as it never had before. Not surprisingly it has generated controversy, with many of the objections coming religious organizations. Ethical implications aside however, there are however, advantages and disadvantages to the practice of cloning. Those listed below are just a few of the many pros and cons associated with cloning. Advantages of Cloning 1/Potential benefits to modern medicine Even today, the full potential of stem cells has not been fully explored. The issue of stem cells has led to controversy because embryos are generally used and they have to be destroyed for the cells to be used. However, a number of researchers believe thatstem cells will eventually change the face of medicine as we know it. Given the fact that the cells can be manipulated to mimic other types of cells, this can provide new ways to treat diseases like cancer and Alzheimer’s. Cloning also offers hope to persons needing organ transplants. People requiring organ transplants to survive an illness often wait years for a suitable donor. In many cases these patients die waiting, as there are long lists of people requiring organs. Theoretically,cloning could eliminate this by producing more animals that can act as suitable donors. Pig livers have been successfully transplanted to human beings, as an interim measure until a human liver is found...
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...Organ Donation 1 ORGAN DONATION: A QUESTION OF LIFE OR DEATH (not all caps) A paper Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for NU 307 Psychosocial Concepts in Nursing in the College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Jacksonville State University JACKSONVILLE, ALABAMA 2008 Organ Donation 2 Organ Donation: A Question of Life or Death Organ donation is a rather controversial issue and should be addressed to (remove and change to) by all families. Donating organs can be viewed as heroic or disrespectful. If one decides to give their (remove and change to) his organs then the question is: who will receive a second chance at life? The purpose of this paper is to decipher the issue of organ donation and the question of to whom the organ should be given. Should only be double spaced only thoroughout entire paper – not between paragraphs According to the Alabama Organ Center (2008), there are close to 100,000 potential recipients are (add) waiting for an organ transplant. This is an enormous number and it is not decreasing quickly. On an (remove) average, nineteen people a day are added to the waiting list, but many (add) die long before an organ is available. The decision to become an organ donor should not be taken lightly. Once a preference is made, (add) it is vital to share it with family or friends. (change- to sharing the decision with family and friends is vital. Discussing one’s after death wishes is of utmost importance...
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...Some non-benefits are that it is harder to do treatments when there are over a million stem cells. It is harder to discover a certain human’s stem cell type when there are millions of them. It takes an immense amount of time to look for the right type. Some people are special and have a special cell type. When they have this, they constantly have to be checked because they can have a virus. “Yamanaka’s 2006 research involved altering genes in adult skin cells to reprogram them into stem cells” (Schlager and Lauer Eds, 3). Changing someone’s genes may or may not be necessary in certain situations. Not to mention, that it might take a while for the treatments from the research to work. These disadvantages and benefits have caused controversy over whether it is the right or wrong thing to...
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...Baby Theresa The case of Baby Theresa became a worldwide controversy that made several minds scramble on making the right decision. Baby Theresa was an anencephalic infant with no chance of survival. Her parents volunteered her organs for transplant to save other children, yet by the time she died, her organs were too deteriorated to be transplanted. Several question arose when this scenario came into questions for the Florida Law officials. South Florida ruled that Theresa's vital organs could not be transplanted until all brain activity - including any function of her brain stem, which controls respiratory and heartbeat - had ceased. Vital questions/concerns were raised on if the right decision was made and if the law was upheld. In one way I believe doctors should have allowed the transplant of Baby Theresa's organs because they could have benefited other children and this would not have harmed Baby Theresa, who had no conscious life anyway. On the other hand, it is always wrong to use one person as a means to somebody's else's ends, that it would have been wrong to violate Baby Theresa's autonomy. But Baby Theresa had no capability of autonomy and her parents were her decision maker. Yet the law makes rules in order to abide certain circumstances like these. Therefore if the law were to bend the rule for this situation then the law would not be upholding their status and would have to give everyone an exemption. Several statements can be made and inferred with assumption...
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...Much like the decision made by former U.S. President Harry S. Truman in regards to the use of atomic energy against Japan in hopes of concluding the death toll of World War II in 1945, the controversy over stem cell development derives from the same question, just because we possess the ability, does that justify its use? Scientists believe the process of extracting and cultivating stem cells for medical use may unlock the cure for countless conditions plaguing human life. As Arshad Chandry, a highly regarded publisher of The Science Creative Quarterly, states: “Stem cells have generated more excitement, Scrutiny and controversy than any other area of recent scientific study” (1). The research of embryonic cell cultivation is accompanied by three very important questions: is it ethical, is it safe and what can it potentially cure? Researchers in the field claim the ability to treat devastating disease and injuries such as Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis, and muscular dystrophy, just to name a few, by replacing and fighting damaged cells with cells altered in a laboratory. Until a semi recent softening of government regulations, strict restrictions had severely hindered the legality of this study based on ethical concerns. Cell cultivation was produced from the discovery of mans ability to sustain the life of molecular cells outside of the body. The HeLa cell, as sustained and grown by Dr. George Gey, was retrieved from the malignant cervical tissue...
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...Stem cells are cells that can recreate into any type of cell and can cure diseases and reproduce rapidly. Stem cells are a huge help in the scientific world but the reason why we don’t use them often is because they are hard to get. Stem cells can change into any different kind of cell that they want to. For example, if someone needs brain cells, they will stick the stem cells into the brain and the stem cells will turn into brain cells. Stem cells are a very big assist to help cure diseases. Stem cells are a huge controversy in the science world. The way we get stem cells is from the fertilized eggs or embryos. Many people don’t like this because, for their research, scientists kill babies all so they can get results on how stem cells work....
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...controversial not only in the USA but in many other countries across the world is stem cell research. Personally, I have mixed views about stem cell research. Considering the knowledge that I currently have about stem cell research, I can say that I am definitely in support of it. On one hand I can understand the controversy and views associated with those who are opposed to the research and use of stem cells. Many of the anti-stem cell research advocates have more of a major issue with the source of the stem cells rather than the method of research used. Stem cells are found throughout the body and are capable of regeneration and transforming into any one of the body’s numerous cell types. Majority of the stem cells used are from adult tissues and referred to as the adult stem cells, or somatic cells, which are derived mostly from blood, bone marrow, and the skin. The other types of stem cells also being used are the umbilical cord stem cells, amniotic fluid stem cells, and embryonic stem cells. The most versatile and controversial of all the stem cells are the embryonic, which are also believed to be more promising for studying, treating and curing diseases. The controversy associated with embryonic stem cells are the simple fact that they are derived from embryos which were developed and donated for research purposes by a donors who signed consent for the eggs to be fertilized in vitro. Due to the existing amount of cultural and ethical beliefs the views of stem cell research using...
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...Stem Cell Research: A Road to Recovery Lisa Wainwright Kaplan University CM220 Stem Cell Research “Recent studies suggest these cells may hold the secret to treatment — even cures — for some of our most baffling diseases, including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.” (Reaves, 2001) With constant development in science and medicine, it was only a matter of time before scientists and doctors would be on the verge of finding cures for diseases that people everywhere have been waiting for. Stem cell research began around 1981, when scientists discovered controllability in the development of mouse embryos; however, it wasn’t until 1998 that scientists discovered how to originate human stem cells from embryos and cultivate them in a lab. (U.S. Department, 2009) President Barak Obama signed Executive Order 135005, “Removing Barriers to Responsible Scientific Research Involving Human Stem Cells,” on March 9, 2009. Section 1, Policy, reads, “Research involving human embryonic stem cells and human non-embryonic stem cells has the potential to lead to better understanding and treatment of many disabling diseases and conditions. Advances over the past decade in this promising scientific field have been encouraging, leading to broad agreement in the scientific community that the research should be supported by Federal funds…. including human embryonic stem cell research, to the extent permitted by law.” (Obama, 2009) There are those who argue that stem cell research should be limited...
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...extract stem cells from replicated human embryos and use them for medical and therapeutic purposes. The stems cells are perfect because they are what the article calls “master cells” which with the help of science, can be manipulated to become anything from brain cells to kidney cells. The article also revolves around the amount of controversy over the issue of cloning. The article mostly reviews the medical side of cloning rather than the reproduction side which can one day lead to the cloning of individual people. The article has high hopes for the potential use of cloning stating that “Down the road, scientists believe it will be possible to create complicated structures such as blood vessels, liver tissue, and whole kidneys. In fact, ACT scientists have already succeeded in building tiny cow kidneys that could be used for kidney transplants. It isn't hard to envision, Lanza says, a future where pretty much any kind of organ or tissue could be engineered to replace those damaged by age, injury, or disease.” Overall, this new study of cloning could help clone new body tissues which can help regulate, maintain and potentially replace importance body organs that could then lead to the salvation of millions of lives. According to an article by Norwegian University of Science and technology biology is “defined as the science of life and living organisms.” This article relates to this course because it identifies the importance of cloning live stem cells in order to create new living...
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