Informing Informed Consent: Expectations, Outcomes, and Caregivers’ Roles in Reconstructive Transplantation

September 28, 2018 -
12:00pm to 1:30pm

Abstract: In this colloquium we will meet the widow of a hand transplant patient and have an opportunity to learn from her illness narrative. Cindy Edwards’s husband, Rich, committed suicide in 2015 following five years as a successful double hand transplant recipient. In addition to illuminating the importance of managing expectations in high-risk, high-commitment experimental procedures, Cindy’s narrative demonstrates the crucial role played by caregivers and family members in supporting patients through the psychological and physical challenges of taking post-transplant medications and completing daily therapy in the years following hand transplant surgery. Themes for discussion may include the role of family and caregivers in transplant candidate evaluation and informed consent, how different parties to experimental interventions conceptualize successful outcomes, and whether interventions that seek quality of life enhancement are ethically distinct from life-saving interventions.

Space is limited; lunch will be served. A reservation is required. To reserve a space, contact bioethics@pitt.edu.

Center for Bioethics & Health Law Colloquium**

Location and Address

G-46 Barco Law Building