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Does pediatric hand transplantation undermine a child's right to an open future?

Authors :
MacKenzie J
Selvaggi G
Sassu P
Source :
Journal of plastic surgery and hand surgery [J Plast Surg Hand Surg] 2021 Jun; Vol. 55 (3), pp. 185-189. Date of Electronic Publication: 2020 Dec 14.
Publication Year :
2021

Abstract

To date, pediatric hand transplantations have only been performed twice. The ethical issue most often discussed in the literature on this surgery concerns the risks of immunosuppression. While these risks are significant, they can be at least partially mitigated by selecting for patients who are already immunocompromised. Nevertheless, as we will argue, pediatric hand transplantation raises ethical issues that go beyond the risks of immunosuppression. In this paper, we focus on three additional ethical issues: the fact that pediatric hand transplantation aims to improve, rather than save life; the fact that it is an experimental surgery; and the fact that it will be performed on non-autonomous patients whose 'right to an open future' may potentially be undermined by the surgery. Taken together, we think that these considerations suggest that transplantation should be postponed until a child is mature enough to make their own decision about it.

Subjects

Subjects :
Child
Humans
Hand Transplantation

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
2000-6764
Volume :
55
Issue :
3
Database :
MEDLINE
Journal :
Journal of plastic surgery and hand surgery
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
33315516
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1080/2000656X.2020.1856669