T here is a growing consensus among scientists worldwide that embryonic stem (HES) cell research will lead to the development of therapies for common diseases or conditions that affect millions of people, including neurological disease or injury, diabetes, and myocardial infarction. HES cells are also valuable tools in understanding early human developmental processes, cell division and differe...

This Essay analyses Islamic law and attempts to apply it to issues surrounding end-of-life care. The author concludes that Islam allows physicians to withdraw life-sustaining technologies if there is no hope for a cure, in the effort to prevent prolonged suffering.

The use of instructional advance directives assumes that preferences for life-sustaining medical treatment remain stable over time and across changes in life condition. A sample of 332 older adults recorded their preferences for 4 life-sustaining treatments in 9 illness scenarios. These preferences were elicited again 1 and 2 years after the original interview. Overall, preferences for life-sus...

The article focuses on the philosophical, ethical and juridical problems concerning Advance directives and Living Wills (underlining analogies and differences). The author makes a critical comparison between the theories supporting Living Wills (the liberal theory appealing to the principle of self-determination and the utilitarian theory on the "quality of life") and the reasons against them (...

A dvance directives indicate who a person would want to make treatment decisions on his or her behalf and what treatments a person would or would not want in various situations. 1,2 Completed by a person who can understand and appreciate the consequences of treatment decisions (i.e., when he or she is competent or capable), an advance directive is used at a time when the person has become incom...

BACKGROUND 'Advance directives' are instructions given by an individual regarding future health care decisions should they become incapacitated. AIM To explore the issues for GPs when introducing advance directives to their patients as a basis for further research into this process. METHOD Interviews with GPs before and after the introduction of advance directives to patients during a norma...

Although decisions regarding end-of-life care are personal and important, they may be influenced by the ways in which options are presented. To test this hypothesis, we randomly assigned 132 seriously ill patients to complete one of three types of advance directives. Two types had end-of-life care options already checked-a default choice-but one of these favored comfort-oriented care, and the o...

Background Advance directives could be an important instrument to support a person's will once he/she is not able to consent anymore - if composed competently. A survey was conducted to identify the level of knowledge concerning possibilities and limits of advance directives. Methods The study was conducted as part of the Bavarian Dementia Survey (BayDem). Data were collected from January 201...

BACKGROUND Current, ongoing national surveys do not include questions about end-of-life (EOL) issues. In particular, population-based data are lacking regarding the factors associated with advance directive completion. PURPOSE To characterize U.S. adults who did and did not have an advance directive and examine factors associated with their completion, such as the presence of a chronic condit...

Psychiatric advance directives (ADs) allow an individual to state their preferences for future treatment at times when they may be unable to make considered decisions. There are differences in their form and legal value and the process associated with their use and completion. Several studies have now been completed to assess the impact of ADs on service use and coercion. Their results give a m...