Euthanasia

Introduction

Euthanasia is the termination of a very sick person's life in order to relieve them of their suffering.The term is derived from the Greek word euthanatos which means easy death.

Ethics Involved :

Euthanasia raises a number of agonising moral dilemmas:

• is it ever right to end the life of a terminally ill patient who is undergoing severe pain and suffering?
• under what circumstances can euthanasia be justifiable, if at all?
• is there a moral difference between killing someone and letting them die?

Why Euthanasia should be forbidden ? 

Religious opponents of euthanasia believe that life is given by God, and only God should decide when to end it.
"First, do no harm" is the oldest oath in medicine. It solemnly confers the doctor's duty to prevent rather than cause distress. When it comes to treating children, doctors are especially mindful of this obligation.

Cervical Cancer

Symptoms:

One of the most common symptoms of cervical cancer is abnormal vaginal bleeding, but in some cases there may be no obvious symptoms.Also, moderate pain during sexual intercourse and vaginal discharge are symptoms of cervical cancer.

Cause:

Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection appears to be a necessary factor in the development of almost all cases (90+%) of cervical cancer.Other than that smoking is also one of the factor.

Victims :

Cervical cancer is the most common malignancy among Indian women, particularly those who marry early. 

Diagnosis : 

The device AV Magnivisualizer which was developed by the Institute of Cytology and Preventive Oncology under the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has 95 per cent accuracy for detecting pre-cancerous lesions.

Blood

Who can Donate Blood ? 

1. Anybody between 18-60 years of age.


2. Ensure a 3 month gap between donations.


3. Those who weigh over 45kg can donate 350 ml of blood and over 56kg can donate 450 ml of blood


4. Those who are HIV positive or have any STDs cannot donate blood.


5. Those suffering from high BP,heart diseases, or have a history of jaundice,tuberculosis,leprosy,hepatitis B/C are permanent deferrals and cannot donate

Assisted Reproductive Technology Bill

Introduction :

Surrogacy in commercial form is legal in India with the landmark Supreme Court judgment and later, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Guidelines 2005 which prescribed conduct and use of ART procedures or treatment by fertility clinics. Subsequent to this the ART (Regulation) Bill 2010 was formulated by the Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, which is still awaiting enforcement. The ART Bill legalised commercial surrogacy by providing for payment as “monetary compensation” to the surrogate mother by the

Trans Fats

Trans_Fats

Trans fats are a type of unsaturated fat which is uncommon in nature but can be created artificially.Trans fat is short for trans fatty acid.  They are created during hydrogenation of liquid vegetable oils, to solidify them.They are present in foods like French fries, baked food and doughnuts.

 

Effects on Health 

1. The consumption of these fats raises the level of low-density lipoprotein (LDL), known

Arogyasri Scheme

Arogyasri Scheme

Started on : 1 April 2007 

By the : then Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy.

Rajiv Aarogyasri or Aarogyasri is a program of the Government of Andhra Pradesh. It covers those below the poverty line. The government issues a Aarogyasri card and the beneficiary 

Terms-Health

Hepatitis B

Hepatitis B 

• Individual Donor-Nucleic Acid Testing (ID-NAT) advanced screening technology.


• Doctors said that HBV, known as a “silent killer”, is more infectious than HIV and is the cause for liver cirrhosis, liver failure and liver cancer.


• Hepatitis (liver inflammation) occurs when the liver, in reaction to harmful elements (commonly drugs, alcohol and viruses), swells and slowly loses its ability to function.


• Hepatitis B Virus is not spread by contaminated food. It is transmitted through contact with blood or other body fluids of an infected person.

Patents in Medicines

• An expert committee on compulsory licensing has recommended that the department of industrial policy and promotion (DIPP) issue a compulsory licence for the manufacture of Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.’s anti-cancer drug Dasatinib to two companies


• It will be India’s second compulsory licence and a significant blow to the New York-based drug maker. A compulsory licence would allow the government to produce a generic version of the patented medicine and sell it at a cheaper price.


• In March 2012, India issued its first compulsory licence to Natco Pharma Ltd for the manufacture of Bayer AG’s Nexavar, another anti-cancer drug.


• Under the Indian patents Act, a compulsory licence for manufacture of a patented pharmaceutical product can be issued if the drug is considered unaffordable by the government.


• The World Trade Organization’s (WTO’s) TRIPS (Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) agreement allows a country to issue a compulsory licence without the consent of the innovator if it is in public interest.


• In January 2013, the health ministry approached DIPP for issuance of compulsory licences for three anti-cancer drugs —Roche Holding AG’s breast cancer treatment Herceptin (Trastuzumab); and Bristol-Myers Squibb’s leukaemia medicine Sprycel (Dasatinib) and chemotherapy drug Ixempra (Ixabepilone). India’s patent office comes under the purview of DIPP.


• DIPP forwarded this request to the committee on compulsory licensing, which has reached a decision on all three drugs. A single 50ml vial of 40mg Trastuzumab costs Rs.1.24 lakh, a 45mg vial of Ixempra costs Rs.66,430.60 and 60 tablets of 20mg each of Dasatinib are priced at Rs.1.17 lakh.

Patents in India : Under protection or over protection

• The Indian Supreme Court, in a landmark judgment in April, turned down a request by the pharmaceutical company Novartis to retain the patent on a cancer drug because it judged the drug to be an extension of existing medications, not a groundbreaking advancement.


• In fact, a U.S. court invalidated a Pfizer patent covering a blood pressure medication (Norvasc) on grounds very similar to the Novartis decision, i.e. mere physical advantages cited for the salt form such as increased stability and solubility were not good enough to merit patent protection.


• Between 2005 and 2011, more than 4,000 patents for pharmaceutical inventions were issued by the Patent Office. Of these, more than 85 per cent were awarded to multinational drug companies.

Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana

• National Health Insurance Programme is a government-run health insurance scheme for the Indian poor.
• Project under the Ministry of Labour and Employment.
•  Cashless insurance for hospitalisation in public as well private hospitals.
•  Started enrolling on April 1, 2008 and has been implemented in 25 states of India.
• Every "below poverty line" (BPL) family holding a yellow ration card pays 30 (less than US$0.7) registration fee to get a bio metric-enabled smart card containing their fingerprints and photographs. This enables them to receive inpatient medical care of up to 30,000 (approx US$670 as of March 2011) per family per year in any of the empanelled hospitals.
• Financial contribution by both central and state governments.
• The scheme is unique in the fact that it is heavily IT-enabled. Enrolment of families into the scheme, smart card generation, pre-authorization of admissions, as well as claim submission and approval, all occur electronically.