Legal Issues
Health care agencies can encounter many problems that impact every member and part of their structure. One of these concerns is the growing problem of hospital mergers and legal complications that follow it. Hospitals that decide to merge with other organizations face the challenge of following every legal step in order to avoid violating antitrust law. Nurses may be affected as one of the main staff members working in hospitals.
For instance, the amalgamation of hospitals often leads to nursing staff being reduced. Another issue deals with nursing services directly. The problem of patient self-determination often presents itself as a legal complication to hospitals. According to Cherry and Jacob (2016), patients have the right to guide their recovery and choose to accept or refuse some types of treatment. Nurses cannot fail to follow this act to avoid legal complications.
Baby Fae
The case of Baby Fae brought several legal and ethical issues into the light. First of all, the ethical problem of transplanting an animal heart to a person is evident. This type of procedure was considered highly unethical.
Furthermore, the lack of data regarding cross-species organ transplants was also a problem that should have been considered. The legal considerations of this process involved the issue of authority in decision-making that led to the transplantation. It was not clear whether the surgeon responsible for the operation had the right to initiate the procedure. Furthermore, the legal position of the Loma Linda University seemed questionable as well.
The nature of this operation seemed experimental. However, this case affected the course of such procedures. According to Murthy, Bajona, Bhama, and Cooper (2016), researchers of that time noticed that organs of deceased people that were used instead of animal parts were very scarce. Furthermore, some species were noted to be more suitable for transplantation than others. Although the state of xenotransplantation was not influenced by this case significantly, the possibility of allotransplantation was brought to the public’s attention. Therefore, this area of operation started to receive more interest.
References
Cherry, B., & Jacob, S. R. (2016). Contemporary nursing: Issues, trends, & management (7th ed.). St. Louis, MS: Elsevier Health Sciences.
Murthy, R., Bajona, P., Bhama, J. K., & Cooper, D. K. (2016). Heart xenotransplantation: Historical background, experimental progress, and clinical prospects. The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, 101(4), 1605-1613.