Woman Given Windpipe Created in Laboratory

This case, considered a "milestone in medicine," discusses a woman who was given a new windpipe consisting of tissues from her own stem cells. Part of the 30-year-old's trachea needed to be replaced after undergoing a severe lung collapse, in order for her to live any sort of normal life in the future. Conventionally, the only option was removal of her lung so she and her doctors decided on the stem cell surgery, even though still a controversial option. Her team of doctors decided to replace the woman's lower trachea and bronchial tube to her left lung with a lab-grown airway. This procedure could signify the beginning of a new hope for patients with serious illnesses. With more and more successful stem cell surgeries, the process is starting to become more and more accepted popularly and in the medical world. It's so interesting to me that doctors and scientists can work together to basically strip down the trachea of a deceased person and turn the collagen into a working organ for a living person. It's truly mind blowing what lengths we can go to these days!

Should Kidney Donors be Reimbursed?

I recently read another interesting article regarding kidney donation. The November 8th article takes place in Singapore and discusses the option of paying donors for giving away their kidneys. A committee consisting of 18 members was put together to discuss the matter, and all agreed that "comprehensive reimbursement" was appropriate. This would include a 5 to 6-figure sum to take care of all related costs such as transport and medical costs and follow-up care. They believe that these costs are legitimate and do not view it as incentive or "paying people" to donate their organs. They believe that taking greater efforts to get people to donate kidneys will decrease the mortality in people who need kidneys, which seems like a valid move to make. I think that while this seems like a good idea at first, it might cause a similar controversy to the surrogate mother issue in that people may just go donate organs for a few extra bucks. I think it would make the most sense to not necessarily pay the donors extra, but only pay for all of their medical expenses so it wouldn't be of any extra cost to them (other than time and the stress of a surgery, etc.) It;s an interesting case...

http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_299838.html

Ethics of Paid Kidney Donations

This past October a conference was held in Karachi, Pakistan where experts from across the world gathered to discuss the ethics of paid kidney donations. Recent research has shown that the rate of survival of the recipient is improved if a kidney donation comes from a living donor, and that the procedure may have better results if the transplantation is performed before the kidney actually shuts down. India's representative believed that equal rights were not practiced in their culture, and that some people were cheated, "forced" to sell their organs due to poverty. A conclusion was reached that there is a need for increased awareness programmes and inviting more volunteer donors to partake at their will. In some countries, such as the Phillipines, donating kidneys to foreigners is illegal and financial profits by sale of human body parts is prohibited as well. I think this is an interesting topic because it is so relevant in today's medical world. It is difficult because I cannot see many people just volunteering to donate their kidney to a stranger. I think I would be more inclined, or even inclined to think about it at all, only if someone very close to me needed the kidney to live. The question remains; is it ethical to pay someone to donate their kidney or other organs?

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008%5C10%5C27%5Cstory_27-10-2008_pg7_24