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Ethical Issues in Pediatric Small Bowel Transplantation

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Ethical Issues in Pediatric Organ Transplantation

Part of the book series: International Library of Ethics, Law, and the New Medicine ((LIME,volume 66))

Abstract

Small bowel transplantation and short bowel syndrome are fields where many ethical issues come to light and leave clinicians with some moral distress. The ethical issues present themselves for most patients in the acute setting of a gastrointestinal catastrophe such as necrotizing enterocolitis totalis or mid-gut volvulus when urgent decisions with possible life-long implications need to be reached quickly. To better understand these ethical issues one has to understand the history of small bowel transplantation, the indications for the procedure, and have a grasp of the recent outcomes. This chapter will succinctly review those medical points before discussing the ethical issues pertaining to pediatric small bowel transplantation. The ethics of emerging technology, best interest principle, accessibility to care, and the societal cost of small bowel transplantation will be explored.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of General and Thoracic Surgery, The Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto, 555 University Ave, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Annie Fecteau

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  1. Annie Fecteau
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Correspondence to Annie Fecteau .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Family and, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada

    Rebecca A. Greenberg

  2. Dept. of Pediatrics, Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, Winnipeg, Canada

    Aviva M. Goldberg

  3. Department of Philosophy I, University of Granada, Madrid, Spain

    David Rodríguez-Arias

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Fecteau, A. (2016). Ethical Issues in Pediatric Small Bowel Transplantation. In: Greenberg, R., Goldberg, A., Rodríguez-Arias, D. (eds) Ethical Issues in Pediatric Organ Transplantation. International Library of Ethics, Law, and the New Medicine, vol 66. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-29185-7_9

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