Stem cell transplantation is used in the treatment of diseases such as leukemia, bone marrow and lymphoma. Recently, the donor of a young man diagnosed with lymphoma gave up on the transplant at the last minute and the 20-year-old lost his life. While the grieving family blamed the donor, the medical world “Even though this is not right in conscience, it is legal, and the donor can leave the table at the last minute.” Cem Şahin, 20, started stem cell treatment after chemotherapy failed to yield results, but he could not complete his treatment because the donor found by TURKKOK gave up before the cell transplant.
Head of the Children’s Bone Marrow Transplant Department, Prof. Dr. Gülyüz Öztürk, said that donor banks are completely voluntary and therefore the person can give up. Öztürk said, “In children’s bone marrow transplants, we definitely look at the mother and father and start preparing these people immediately. In other words, a vaccine treatment that stimulates stem cells and releases them into circulation, “We start collecting by giving a large dose for 2 days,” he said.
COMPLETELY VOLUNTARY BASIS
Öztürk continued his words as follows:
“If we only look at the news reflected in the press, we should not start the transplant without considering whether the child can tolerate the medication. Because these drugs destroy both bad cells and good cells. There is no question of whether the medications given are strong or light. Even an aspirin can have side effects.
During the transplantation process, reduced preparation regimens can be given depending on the patient’s condition. Sharing the information that these are less responsive to treatment than high-dose treatment, Öztürk said, “We do not know which drugs the child received, what his initial and final conditions were, we can only blame the donor in good conscience, not legally. “The situation is the same abroad.” He used the expressions.
DOCTORS EXPLAIN THE RISKS
In transplant patients, the drug must be given in a way that will destroy all the bad cells in the tissues, otherwise the body will not accept the bone marrow coming from someone else. In bone marrow, a broad consent is obtained from the family and Everything is explained one by one, up to the risk of death, Doctors share drug information in detail.
Emergency Medicine Specialist Prof. Dr. Özgür Karcıoğlu says that the donor has the right to withdraw even at the last second on the operating room table and draws attention to the fact that consent is also obtained at the table. “There is a general lack of awareness in society, even relatives are asked about organ donation. There are organ transplant coordinators and ethics committees in hospitals,” said Karcıoğlu. He stated that there should be no conflict of interest between the donor and the recipient.Karcıoğlu said that the ability of a person to give up on organ transplantation until the last moment also makes it easier for them to approve organ transplantation in the first place.
LEGAL LIABILITY
Lawyer Kevser Yıldırım stated that if it is possible for a physician to consider the method of performing a stem cell transplant first by transplanting cells from a donor and then applying chemotherapy that may cause the patient’s death, a risk that may cause the patient’s death should not be taken. Yıldırım said, “In addition to their primary obligations, physicians also have some secondary obligations such as informing, loyalty and diligence, documenting medical information, being accountable to the patient or their relatives, and developing their professional experience,” and added:
“Since the patient will undergo chemotherapy due to the stem cell transplant and the donor’s consent, hIt is clear that the patient could have survived without chemotherapy. In such a case, the fact that the patient was left to die while he could have continued his life with another donor brings criminal and legal liability.”
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