Iranian Journal of Medical Ethics and History of Medicine

In the modern world, reproductive right is considered among the basic human rights in countries such as America and Britain. There has been growing interest in the subject and its various aspects including contraception and assisted reproductive technologies, which are giving rise to the ongoing debates. National and international legislators, governments and religions are striving to resolve the controversy among individuals and between individuals and governments and devise the perfect legislation that will cover all aspects of the subject and control all activities in this area.In the realm of bioethics and law, the issue is introduced as a right not duty, while in Christianity and Judaism it falls under the category of duty. In Islam, on the other hand, childbearing decision-making is left to the couple, which highlights the teachings of Islam regarding reproduction. In this paper, we attempted to offer a comparative study of four different points of view regarding the issue of reproductive rights

The present study is an overview of the causes of patient complaints against physicians and the medical staff in Imam Khomeini Hospital Complex, and strategies to reduce the complaints. For this purpose, complaints that had been filed with the clinical governance office of Imam Khomeini Hospital Complex in 2012 and 2013 were investigated. The information in the forms included age and sex of the plaintiffs, their level of education, type of complaint and similar details. Of the 309 complaints, 174 had been recorded in 2012 and 135 in 2013. The plaintiffs were males with a mean age of 50.5, and 69.6% of them had high school diplomas or lower. Most (16.2%) of the complaints pertained to the emergency department, while 48.5% and 22.7% of the complaints were related to doctors and nurses respectively. In 62.5% of the cases, the accused had been acquitted and 34% had been convicted. The main cause of complaint involved treatment and care at 40.1% and 36.6% respectively. In general, the most common causes of complaints were treatment and care for doctors, and lack of respect for nurses and others. Thus, more attention should be paid to the continuous education of medical students and residents during training years in order to increase the knowledge and skills of physicians. Other measures that can reduce complaints are: providing sufficient information to patients before diagnostic or therapeutic procedures improving the equipment in health centers educating the society and raising public awareness of the treatment process offering the necessary information during medical procedures obtaining informed consent careful choice of the medical team and assigning them to the right position and holding communication skills workshops.

In the past decades, the need for organ donation has increased while consent rate continues to remain inadequate. One of the most important limiting factors in organ donation is families’ refusal to grant consent, and therefore it is important to determine the circumstances influencing the phenomenon. The aim of this study was to investigate the factors affecting consent to organ donation in families of brain death patients in hospitals affiliated with Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences. For this purpose, a self-made questionnaire was distributed among 54 family members of brain death patients admitted in hospitals affiliated with Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences between 2003 and 2013. The data were reported as mean, frequency and percentage using the SPSS16 software. The average age of the deceased was 31.38 ± 13.72 years, and car accidents were the most frequent cause of brain death (59.3%) in this study. In addition, 72.2% of the deceased were male and 90.7% of them lived in or around the city of Shahrekord. About 37% of the families consented to organ donation. The average age of the family members who participated in the study was 42.15 ± 8.9 years. The most frequent reasons affecting families’ consent to organ donation were religious rewards (100%), confidence in the medical team and staff (100%), and confidence in physician diagnosis (100%).The findings of the study show that religion, faith and family ties affect the willingness for organ donation, and therefore specific attention should be given to these factors in educational programs. In the present study, religious beliefs and confidence in the performance of health care workers were highlighted as the most effective factors in consent to organ donation in brain dead patients' families. Consequently, in order to increase organ donation rate, special attention to these factors and proper planning is necessary.

According to the principle of respect for autonomy, which is one of the essential precepts of medical ethics, patients are entitled to the right of self-determination for a hypothetical future when they may lose the decision-making capacity. Thus, when still adequately competent to make decisions, a person can prepare a document and predict their therapeutic options and state their wishes for the possible time of lack of decision making capacity, or assign a surrogate who will make the best decision considering the attitudes and interests of the patient. This document, called advance directive, has advantages and disadvantages, and has been investigated from different perspectives. The present study addresses this new issue through non-systematic internet and library review of resources, and aims to investigate some aspects of this subject and examine the possibility of its naturalization from certain viewpoints, particularly from the Islamic perspective. In Islam, life is highly respected and physicians are obliged to do their best to protect human life. In cases where patients refuse the suggested treatments, even when it harms them fundamentally, the physician is obliged to respect their wishes for several reasons. Nevertheless, physicians should avoid any direct measure that may end up in the patient’s death. As regards advance directives, the patient no longer has the capacity to make decisions and has done so formerly, which may be in conflict with the physician’s responsibility to save the patient’s life under present circumstances. In such cases, despite a preliminary injunction, there is no reason to extend the patient's right to the time of their consciousness. Therefore, based on the religious principles observed in Iran, acting on the patient's previous decisions can only be valid as long as they do not conflict with the physician’s responsibilities. Furthermore, advance directives currently do not have a place in our legal system and the recognition of such documents is contingent upon further studies, including legal and cultural reviews.

Human cloning is among the newest and most advanced technologies in the field of medical sciences and genetics, and has been a popular topic of discussion throughout the 21^st century. The success of scientists in the use of this technology on animals has caused great concern for outstanding thinkers of various fields.

Some issues that necessitate research on this subject include: physical injuries caused by manipulation of ovaries, the cell nucleus, and the embryo the possibility of mental and emotional damage, and premature aging potential threats to human will and discretion a violation of human dignity and conflicts with religions and world-views.

A philosophical outlook on these issues can guide the researcher from the surface to the root of the problem and redirect such concerns, and at the same time shed light on the existing disputes between scholars of natural sciences and humanities regarding the cloning technology. This will be especially true if such an outlook is based on a tradition as rich as the Iranian Islamic philosophy. The present article uses analytical library research to investigate the anthropological teachings of Sadraian philosophy from the ontological and epistemological point of view. The article then proceeds to examine the outcomes and consequences of the cloning technology according to this doctrine.

It seems that the anthropological principles embedded in or hidden behind therapeutic or reproductive cloning technology are not in conflict with Sadraian anthropology.

Chronic renal failure in infants is a life-threatening condition that can also severely affect their families. Patients and their families are under great physical, mental and social pressure, and therefore require medical, palliative and supportive care. Moreover, ethics has an important role in care for these infants and their families. The purpose of this study was to identify an ethical approach to providing medical, supportive and palliative services for infants with chronic renal failure and their families. The study was based on a case report in the Medical Ethics Grand Rounds of the Children's Medical Center in Tehran, Iran. The case pertained to a male newborn infant with diagnosis of renal failure. Assessments indicated severe bilateral hydronephrosis and multicystic dysplastic kidneys accompanied by high creatinine levels. The patient underwent surgery but further evaluations revealed a low glomerular filtration rate accompanied by elevated blood pressure. The physicians suggested insertion of a catheter for CAPD (continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis) after the initial peritoneal dialysis until a kidney transplant was performed. The proposal, however, was rejected by the parents and the patient was discharged by their consent. A few weeks later, the infant expired at home. It seems that health professionals need effective ethical strategies to offer medical, supportive and palliative services for infants with chronic renal failure and their families