Paper Topic:

Medical law and ethics -2

Do you feel having a professional code of ethics played a role in the actions of the healthcare team in this case

In this medical case , it is described how Johnny , a 2-year old boy , has been diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia and needs blood transfusion immediately since his hemoglobin count has dropped to drastically dangerous levels . According to the medical report presented in the case , Johnny could die should his hemoglobin continue to decrease because it is essential in delivering oxygenated blood . The problem and ethical dilemma in the case , however

, is that the boy 's parents , Sarah and Tom , are practicing Jehovah 's Witnesses , which is a religion that prohibits any form of blood transfusion among its members . Personally , I believe that having a professional code of ethics played a vital role in actions of the healthcare team in addressing Johnny 's illness . As stated in the case , there are other alternatives to treat Johnny 's condition The alternatives that the team used are oral /intravenous /intramuscular preparations of iron and Epogen , a colony stimulating factor that can be used to trigger the patient 's bone marrow to produce new blood cells However , Johnny 's health continued to deteriorate and he required immediate platelet transfusion , which is against the religion of his parents . But a court ruled that in case of a life-threatening condition , the boy must receive transfusion and so the parents had no choice but to allow it . Upon analyzing this case using the Three-Step...

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