June, 2018 - Bill of Health

The German Stem Cell Network Has Compiled a Sample Text for Informed Consent

June 8, 2018December 14, 2018 Sara Gerke Leave a comment

Sara Gerke speaking — GSCN Conference in Jena in September, 2017

At the General Meeting of the German Stem Cell Network (GSCN) in Jena in September 2017, Tobias Cantz and I proposed the establishment of a new GSCN strategic working group.

This new working group, known as ELSA, focuses on the ethical, legal and social aspects of the modern life sciences. ELSA aims to serve as a country-wide interdisciplinary platform for the exchange of information and for the analysis and discussion of challenges facing basic and applied stem cell research in Germany.

State-Level Solutions to Discrimination in Organ Transplants

June 7, 2018August 23, 2018 Emily Largent Leave a comment

By Emily Largent

In recent years, alleged instances of discrimination against people with disabilities in organ transplantation have captured public attention.

In 2012, for example, the parents of Amelia Rivera, a child with Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome, alleged that they were told their daughter was not a candidate for a kidney transplant because of her “mental retardation.” The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia denied “disqualify[ing] transplant patients on the basis of intellectual ability.” Nevertheless, more than 51,000 individuals signed a change.org petition demanding that the hospital “allow the life saving [sic] transplant four-year-old Amelia Rivera needs to survive.” Ultimately, Rivera received a living donor kidney transplant from her mother.

Beyond Disadvantage: Photos from the Petrie-Flom Annual Conference

June 5, 2018September 7, 2018 The Petrie-Flom Center Staff Leave a comment

At last week’s Petrie-Flom Center Annual Conference, “Beyond Disadvantage: Disability, Law, and Bioethics,” discussed a number of topics related to the “mere difference” vs. “bad difference” disability theory debate.

Over the course of the day, six panels of experts shared their research and views on topics ranging from health care as eugenics to epistemic injustice to organ donation.

We will have the videos of the event soon, but in the meantime, enjoy the tweets from #rethinkingdisability and some photos from throughout the day by photographer Martha Stewart.

Amy McGuire and Natalie Ram on ‘The Week in Health Law’ Podcast

June 5, 2018June 5, 2018 Nicolas P. Terry Leave a comment

By Nicolas Terry

This week on the pod I welcome Amy McGuire, the Leon Jaworski Professor of Biomedical Ethics and Director of the Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy at Baylor College of Medicine and Natalie Ram, a Professor of Law at The University of Baltimore School of Law. Our conversation revolves around the arrest of the suspected Golden State Killer who was partially identified by a DNA match through a publicly accessible database. Legal topics range from the Fourth Amendment to HIPAA and the Common Rule as we discuss implications for personal privacy and major, DNA-led projects such as Precision Medicine. For background see this and this.

Image of a healthcare worker opening up the instruction sheet for naloxone

As opioid overdose numbers rise, so does the cost of naloxone

June 4, 2018November 14, 2018 Stephen Wood 2 Comments

Naloxone is an opioid-receptor antagonist. In other words, it has the ability to displace an opioid from the receptor site, and essentially reverse its activity to save overdose victims. However, a significant increase in the cost of naloxone has put it out of reach of the people who need it most.

Month: June 2018