Published on Oct 31, 2024
Current Affairs
New draft guidelines on passive euthanasia 2024
- Union Health Ministry comes up with new draft guidelines on passive euthanasia. The Doctors should take a "considered decision" on withdrawal of life support in terminally ill patients on the basis of certain conditions including a documented informed refusal by the patient or their kin. The guidelines laid out four conditions for the passive euthanasia to take a "considered decision in a patient's best interests, to stop or discontinue ongoing life support.
- The individual has been declared to have had a brainstem death 1.There is medical prognostication and a considered opinion that the patient's disease condition is advanced and not likely to benefit from aggressive therapeutic interventions, 2. A patient/surrogate documented informed refusal, following prognostic awareness, to continue life support 3.Compliance with procedures prescribed by the Supreme Court.
- A Terminal illness in the draft guidelines has been defined as an irreversible or incurable condition from which death is inevitable in the foreseeable future.
- Severe traumatic brain injury which shows no recovery after 72 hours or more is also included.For a patient without capacity, foregoing of Life Support proposals should be made by a consensus among a group of at least three physicians who form the Primary Medical Board (PMB). A Secondary Medical Board of three physicians with one appointee by the Chief Medical Officer of the district must validate the decision by the PMB.