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How many organ donors in Quebec?
Quebec organ donor statistics have been published during awareness week: Approximately 3 million inhabitants of Quebec have chosen to donate their organs and have signed up to the Quebec Organ Donor Registry. 1.6 million people have given their consent by signing the...
Vincent Lambert: the court asks for a new medical expertise
In proceedings instigated by Vincent Lambert's parents' lawyers, the administrative court of Châlons-en-Champagne "considered it necessary, in order to rule on the merits of their application, to have recourse to expert opinion, which should determine whether Vincent...
Alfie Evans is still alive, his parents hope to transfer him to Rome
Last night, doctors at the Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool turned off life support for [1] Alfie [2] Evans, a two-year old boy who was in a semi-vegetative condition. The decision was taken late in the evening, even though the Italian Prime Minister had...
Pennsylvania House of Representatives passes bill banning abortion of foetuses carrying trisomy 21
In Pennsylvania last Monday, the House of Representatives passed a bill to prohibit abortions when the only reason is that the foetus may be or is a carrier of trisomy 21, by a comfortable majority, 139 votes in favour and 56 against. The bill, which seeks to protect...
Researchers develop a new process for differentiating iPS stem cells
It is estimated that 80% of adults in the United States will suffer from back and neck pain once or twice in their lifetime. This is usually caused by the breakdown of discs: these load-bearing structures, which cushion the spinal vertebrae, are mainly composed of a...
70 specialists denounce “euthanasia in disguise” and call for Vincent Lambert to be transferred to a specialist unit
Seventy doctors and specialists treating brain-injury patients in a persistent vegetative state or minimally conscious state have published an opinion piece in Le Figaro in which they condemn the "living conditions imposed upon Mr Vincent Lambert". "We wish to...
Contraceptive implants given to English girls aged 12 and under
The NHS[1] is distributing the contraceptive implant in schools "like Smarties". In 2015/2016 and 2016/2017, 10,593 girls under 16 years old (with an NHS number) were given a contraceptive implant including 39 girls aged 12 and under. These figures do not include...
Second face transplant – acute risk of rejection
Jérôme Hamon is the first man to undergo a second face transplant[1]. His body rejected the first transplant after five years. The partially necrosed face had to be removed and the patient had to spend over two months in intensive care, without a face, waiting for a...
Overdose-death organ donors: what exactly is the risk?
The number of post-overdose deaths is increasing in the United States[1]. These are young people who have often agreed to donate their organs. Their deaths could help to tackle the organ shortage in the U.S. Since 2000, the number of transplants performed following...
Surrogacy – a procedure that could affect the health of the surrogate mother and the child at birth
A study carried out in California has shown that there are more obstetrical and perinatal complications in the case of surrogacy by IVF than with natural pregnancy. All of the surrogate mothers taking part in this study had initially conceived at least one child...
Belgium: should the penal code be lifted for abortion? Not exactly an impartial question
Two days before the March for Life, the question of abortion and the civil code is still being raised: why? Carine Brochier from the European Institute of Bioethics (EIB) explains with Gènéthique. In the lead-up to the March for Life, held in Brussels at 3 p.m....
Fertility coaches to support infertile couples
Pending confirmation of pregnancy, parents can benefit from the support of a trained specialist to guide them through this difficult journey. Fertility coaches in Germany, Switzerland and France begun offering this service only recently. Although infertility is...