Source Points - ME

Question 1

Embryology

Answer 1

• It is legal to research on human embryos up to 14 days
• Chimeras allowed up to 14 days
• IVF success rates now 20-40%
• Able to identify 200 genetic diseases
• In 1978 Louise Brown born - first IVF baby

Question 2

Abortion

Answer 2

• Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy.
• In the UK, you can terminate a pregnancy up to 24 weeks.
• Since 2017, it has been legal to take abortion pills at home
• 150-meter buffer zones outside abortion clinics have been set up to prevent protests.
• There were 13,896 abortions in Scotland in 2021.

Question 3

Organ Procurement

Answer 3

• 2006 Human Tissue Act makes it illegal to buy and sell organs
• Children over 12 may join the list by their choice
• 2021 Human Tissue Authoritarian Act introduced opt-out law: everyone aged 16+ is assumed to want to donate their organs after death, (presumed consent) unless they opt-out
• 10% of organ transplants worldwide are the result of illegal organ trafficking and sales
• Around 10% of people on the waitlist die while waiting for an organ each year

Question 4

Organ Allocation

Answer 4

• Around 10% of people on the waitlist die while waiting for an organ each year
• It is illegal to discriminate once people are on the transplant list, chronologically distributed
• Super urgent need makes someone eligible to skip the list
• May be disqualified based on 10 factors including age, ongoing alcohol or drug use or malnutrition
• There are over 7500 people currently waiting on the list

Question 5

Medical/Social Care

Answer 5

• Medical care is treatment aimed at prolonging life or curing illness
• Social care is any way someone is supported in their final months without trying to cure their illness
• 75% of hospices funded by charitable donations
• Currently 11,000 people in Edinburgh and the Lothians who cant be helped due to funding
• Patients can request a DNR (do not resuscitate order)

Question 6

Assisted Dying

Answer 6

• Euthanasia: voluntary, active, doctor kills on request
• Assisted Dying: patient kills themselves in a controlled setting
• All of these forms of assisted dying are currently illegal
• In England assisted dying punishable up to 14 years and euthanasia up to life
• New bills introduced to Holyrood and Westminster to legalise assisted dying for those with less than 6 months to live