By Grace Kim
As mentioned in previous articles, there are many factors that influence organ donors and affect the rate of organ donation, such as asking potential donors a second time or offering incentives through self-interest motivations. An important aspect to factor in organ donors and donation is religion. In many countries outside of the United States, religion is not often as separated from the state. Even in the United States, …

By Kaitlyn Schaeffer
Many couples facing fertility problems turn to the assisted reproduction industry for help – the rise in the number of people seeking in vitro solutions has resulted in an increasingly large number of frozen embryos (as many as one million) being stored across the nation. These frozen embryos occupy an ill-defined space: they are not clearly human, nor clearly not human. Decisions regarding what to do with these …

By Kaitlyn Schaeffer
Italian neurosurgeon Sergio Canavero has big plans for the next few years: he’s preparing to transplant a head onto a donor body.
This past Friday, at a conference in Annapolis, Dr. Canavero announced to a crowd of over 100 doctors, researchers, and reporters that he believes he can accomplish this feat in two years time. He will need a team of 150 surgeons to perform the 36-hour operation. He …