Ethical Case Studies

Ethical Case Study: Number Nine
Healthcare ethics is defined as a system of moral principles that guide healthcare workers in making choices regarding medical care. At its core lies our attitudes regarding our personal rights and obligations we have to others. When an unprecedented situation comes into play, we rely on medical ethics to help determine an outcome that would be the best case scenario for all involved. In order to appropriately review this case study, we must first identify the key stakeholders, the ethical principles, policy implications at the federal, state, and local levels, financial implications, and a viable resolution for the situation.
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the case study of a three-year-old girl affected with Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome. This condition malformation syndrome associated with growth retardation, mental retardation, and immunodeficiency subsequent from a hemizygous deletion of the short arm of chromosome 4. Wolf–Hirschhorn syndrome (WHS) is characterized by brain developmental defects, immunodeficiency, microcephaly, craniofacial deformities, and congenital heart defects (Hajdu, Ciccia, Lewis, & Elledge, 2011). The median life-expectancy for a patient with this chromosomal syndrome is around 34 years of age (Shannon, Maltby, Rigby, & Quarrell (2001). The patient presents with kidney failure that would require a transplant within the year. The transplant team and social services believe that the implications of her syndrome make her a less-than-ideal candidate for the liver transplant. The hospital claims that the patient’s mental status has no bearing on whether or not they deny a candidate a transplant. With the different stances among the hospital staff, the patient’s mother...

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...astly, the family could seek to consult with other transplant programs and decide to transfer her to another hospital. The transplant team leader would be obligated to help the family find another facility that would accommodate the family’s wishes to pursue a transplant.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the outcome of this case study should focus solely on the best- case scenario for the patient. . Three-year-old Emily will face transplant candidacy issues based on her diagnosis of Wolf-Hirschhorn Syndrome. An analysis of key stakeholders, ethical principles, policy implications at the state and federal levels, pros and cons, financial implications, and possible solutions were all used to find an outcome most appropriate for the patient. Whether Emily lives or dies in this situation, it is important that all involved did their best to preserve her quality of life.