Health progress (Saint Louis, Mo.)
-
According to the Roman Catholic perspective, we are not obliged to ward off death at all costs, but we should not deliberately intervene to bring death about. The "sanctity of life" principle, which rests on the human person's unique relationship with God, is the basis of the Church's honoring of human life as a basic value. Under this principle, direct intervention to end the life of a patient in a terminal condition would not be condoned. ⋯ Thus death may not be directly sought, but it may be tolerated as an inevitable side effect of one's goal (such as the relief of suffering). These moral principles need to be rooted in the specific ways a moral community cares for its sick and dying. The religious convictions of grace and covenant and corresponding virtues of gratitude and fidelity enable the community to uphold its convictions about euthanasia.
-
Healthcare professionals, including physicians, nurses, and clergy, must know how to initiate the process of organ and tissue donation to fulfill a patient's or family's wishes and how to ensure that the organs and tissues recovered by transplant teams are medically acceptable. After Oct. 1, 1987, federal law requires that hospitals have an organ donation policy and a mechanism in place for contacting an organ procurement agency (OPA). ⋯ An OPA is responsible for educating its referral hospitals about donor criteria, the national donor-recipient matching system, and how to discuss donation with grieving families. As part of this process, healthcare professionals can be involved in formal educational sessions that address the following questions: What is meant by "organ" and "tissue"? Who can be an organ or tissue donor? Do healthcare professionals need to be able to recognize a potential donor and handle everything on their own? What procedures are followed in initiating the discussion about donation with the family? How should one offer the option of organ and tissue donation to a bereaved family? What are some common family concerns and questions? What does donor maintenance entail? What happens in the operating room? Is there any follow-up after transplantation?
-
In August 1985 the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws drafted a document entitled The Uniform Rights of the Terminally Ill Act, which it recommended for enactment by all U. S. states. ⋯ The act limits the scope of an advance directive to the withdrawal or withholding of "life-sustaining treatment," which is "any medical procedure or intervention that when administered to a qualified patient will serve only to prolong the process of dying." Qualified patients are those with a terminal condition, which is "an incurable or irreversible condition that without the administration of life-sustaining treatment will, in the opinion of the attending physician, result in death within a relatively short time." The National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) Committee for Pro-Life Activities responded to the act in July 1986. The NCCB wishes to narrow the act's scope to apply only to patients in the "final stage of a terminal condition." Other specific concerns are the withdrawal of artificial nutrition and hydration, the need for communication with the family in making decisions, and the protection of an unborn child's life when the mother fulfills the conditions of the act and her living will stipulates a desire for withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)