Iranian Journal of Medical Ethics and History of Medicine

Medical and ethical issues regarding assisted reproductive techniques in women of advanced age

Reza Omani Samani

Recently larger numbers of women of advanced age are referring to fertility centers. Although there may be no age restriction for women who are naturally able to and want to be pregnant, using assisted reproductive techniques for women of advanced age is medically and ethically disputed, and this question is always raised: "Should there be an age limit for accessing assisted reproductive techniques for women?" This study was a review of ethical, legal and religious issues regarding pregnancy and reproduction in advanced age for women. We tried to cover codes, legislations and articles on the subject. There is no national legislation about age limit for women seeking assisted reproduction. In this regard, fertility clinics follow their own protocols. Most centers do not accept women older than 45 unless there is a specific clinical situation confirmed by a physician. In any case, the safety of the mother and her child must be the first concern of the physician, and all the treatment protocols should be determined accordingly. Obviously, age alone cannot be a suitable criterion for rejecting the infertile patient. Therefore, regardless of the patient's persistence and their ability to afford treatment, physicians should consider mother's safety and the welfare of the child before admission. Pursuing an all-inclusive legislation and guideline seems to be of great importance in Iran.

Patient’s consent, legal conditions and their criminal protection

Behzad Joodaki

One of the important issues in the field of medical ethics is the patient's consent to treatment. This issue has also been addressed in the law, and Islamic legislators have clarified the conditions of gaining patient's consent and approached questions such as legitimacy of treatments or surgical operations, capacity of the person giving consent and so on. In medical ethics, there are different types of consent including expressed, implied and informed consent, while the Islamic Criminal Act concerns itself only with the expression of consent and it is unclear which type of consent the legislators are referring to. The importance of this issue lies in the fact that gaining the patient's consent without meeting the specified legal conditions causes liability for the physician. This article attempts to clarify the legal conditions for gaining patient's consent and at the same time answer questions such as whether the consent mentioned in the Islamic Criminal Act includes various types in medical ethics or not, how failure to meet the legal conditions for gaining consent should be penalized, what the liabilities are in the event that the patient's consent is not gained, and other questions related to the issue

Ethical principles in education

Masoumeh Imanipour

Every organization has ethical codes and behavioral standards suited to its professional structure that are referred to as professional ethics. Higher education is a professional system and the faculty should be aware of ethical standards of teaching considering their role in developing students and their obligation to them. Applying professional ethics in education ensures the right teaching-learning process in higher education institutions and can result in more commitment to students' needs.The aim of this review article, which is based on literature and related books and articles, is to examine the professional ethics of faculty as teachers and their role in the education and moral development of their students in view of ethical standards. In order to do this, samples of Islamic ethical issues related to the subject and some educational ethical rules of other countries have been investigated. Based on the professional ethics of teaching, teachers should pledge to ethical principles in two dimensions: firstly, they should behave decently considering their role in the students' moral development, and should be aware that the most effective method to characterize positive values in students is being actual role models. Secondly, because of the teachers' responsibility in meeting the educational needs of their students, they should have maximal commitment to ethical principles to perform professional tasks in the best way possible.

Impediments of the development of modern pharmacies in Qajar era

Maryam Saghafi

Prevalence of epidemic diseases including cholera and plague was among the most common causes of death during the Qajar era, and the necessity of fighting such diseases was one of the priorities of the government. Acquiring medicinal and pharmaceutical knowledge from Europe and promotion of general hygiene were among the efficient ways of preventing outbreaks and epidemics. The process was started by Abbas Mirza through sending students to Europe and continued by Amir Kabir through the establishment of Darolfonun (the Polytechnic School). Modern medicine and pharmacy were introduced in Iran by European professors of the Darolfonun however, their development faced oppositions in the traditional society of the era. In this research, we are going to explain the process of development and promotion of the modern medicine and drugstores, based on the present references, and then proceed to examine the impediments in this regard.

Ethics in plant made vaccines

Hasan Rahnama

In recent years, vaccination programs have advanced significantly due to the progress in molecular biology and biotechnology. Research on plant-made vaccines has become a very tempting subject and transgenic plant technology to produce human or animal vaccines has attracted much attention. Numerous advantages have been reported for vaccine production in transgenic plants such as low cost, ease of maintenance, lack of infection, and high compatibility with the immune system. So far, many of these vaccines are being produced in various plants. The present paper attempts to introduce plant made-vaccines and at the same time discuss the ethical aspects related to the production and clinical testing of these vaccines from three aspects: production of edible vaccines in transgenic plants, clinical tests on plant-made vaccines and plant-made vaccines and global health. Although many aspects of the ethical issues related to plant made vaccines are those that have been reported in transgenic plants, new problems have risen for ethicists and policy makers. Furthermore, the hope of the widespread use of these types of vaccines in developing countries without considering the possibility of plant surveys is unrealistic. Therefore, commercial feasibility for the development of plant-made vaccines in developing countries is very important as a solution to global health problems.

Shiraz dentists’ knowledge of professional ethics

Mitra Farzin

Considering the professional position of physicians, ethics is of great significance in medical society and being among medical sciences, dentistry is not an exception. This research evaluates the Shiraz dentists' knowledge of professional ethics especially in regard to patients' rights, which is recommended by American Dentists Association. This research is of descriptive/observational and cross-sectional type. The society studied in this research included all dentists in Shiraz who owned an office, out of which 97 individuals were selected through simple random sampling. To collect the data, a 20-question questionnaire was used. The reliability and validity of this questionnaire was approved, and collected data was analyzed by SPSS software. ANOVA test was used as a method of gaining correlation of age and knowledge, and T-test was used to gain correlation of gender and knowledge. Results revealed that the score of dentists' knowledge was 61%, which is equal to 11 out of 18 scores. There was no relationship between knowledge and age (P=0.67) or gender (P=0.68). Dentists must be aware of patients' rights, and reviewing ethical education in the faculty of dentistry is essential, and reaching this goal requires public participation and proper planning for training on this issue in Iran.

Moral intelligence status of the faculty members and staff of the Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences of Yazd

Mohammad Amin Bahrami

Moral intelligence is the capacity of understanding right from wrong, choosing what's right and then behaving morally. This research was aimed to determine the moral intelligence status of the faculty and staff of the Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences.This descriptive/analytical research was done through cross-sectional method in 2011. Research population was comprised of the faculty and staff of public health and paramedical schools of Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences. Sample size was 100 people who were obtained by using stratified-random sampling method. Required data was gathered by a Lennick and Kiel valid questionnaire. Data analysis was done through the SPSS16 software.Research findings indicated that both faculty and staff have "very good" status in integrity, forgiveness and responsibility. Also, faculty members and staff have "very good" and "good" status in compassion respectively. The status of moral intelligence in faculty members and staff is "very good". There is a statistical meaningful relationship between age and moral intelligence status (P=0.04) but there is no relationship between other demographic variables and emotional intelligence.Moral intelligence status of faculty and staff can help the university to conduct its role in moral development of students effectively.

Tahmores Bashiryeh