By Caroline Song Lawmakers in Vermont recently filed a bill for presumed consent to organ donation. H. 57 states that “[a]ll Vermont residents 18 years of age or older shall be presumed to consent to making an anatomical gift of some or all of their organs, eyes, tissues, or a combination thereof upon their death [...]
By Caroline Song Italian surgeon Sergio Canavero claims that he will be able to perform a human head transplant as soon as 2017. Two major hurdles to such a surgery still exist: an inability to successfully fuse together disparate spinal cords and the body’s sometimes negative immunological response to transplanted organs. Canavero believes that these [...]
By Richard Balagtas Many couples struggle with conception. Fortunately, advancements in medical technologies have produced alternative methods for conceiving children, including in-vitro fertilization and surrogacy. These options are often stressful for the individuals who undergo them; one can only imagine the nightmare some families went through when they discovered they’d been swindled. “Forty families, desperate for [...]
By Kaitlyn Schaeffer After receiving a diagnosis of terminal brain cancer, Brittany Maynard moved to Oregon, a state that has a “Death With Dignity” law. She passed away in November of last year, surrounded by family and friends. Her story has inspired two New York state lawmakers to introduce a “death with dignity” bill that [...]
The Mason Institute won its bid to host the 13th World Congress of the International Association of Bioethics. The event will take place in Edinburgh, Scotland, from June 14-17, 2016. The Mason Institute is an interdisciplinary research network based at the University of Edinburgh. They aim to investigate how developments in medicine and bioethics affect [...]
We are happy to announce a collaboration between GBI and the Center for the Study of Bioethics in Belgrade. We have teamed up because we share the common goal of promoting awareness and discussion of bioethical issues. Our cooperation should help facilitate the exchange of information, the organization of seminars and conferences, and the advancement [...]
By Caroline Song Dr. Michael Rees of the University of Toledo Medical Center believes he has found a way to save the federal government money while creating an influx of kidneys; he calls his innovative program reverse-transplant tourism. “In rich countries there’s not enough kidneys for people who have kidney failure, but there is plenty [...]
By Richard Balagtas The organ donation industry rakes in some $20 billion every year. Non-profit companies, such as Gift of Life and CORE, are key contributors. According to their 2012 tax forms, these two non-profits have a combined value of almost $100 million. While money is important for building and growing an industry, one wonders how [...]
By Caroline Song The Delhi government has been cracking down on private hospitals’ practices of donating corneas to foreigners. In 2014, the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Rules proclaimed that Indian patients are to take priority over foreign nationals. Due to concerns that this rule wasn't being followed, the state government of Delhi introduced a [...]
By Rose Bowen Recently, a 36-year-old Swedish woman gave birth to a healthy baby boy, making her the first woman to perform this feat with a transplanted uterus. The new mother, who has asked to remain anonymous, was told by her doctor that she did not have a womb when she was a teenager. In 2013, [...]
