Fools in Medicine

The issue of removing life-support to brain dead individuals comes up in the news quite often. The families normally want to give more time; but the expert doctors want to turn the thing off, probably to save costs, and let the patient die.

‘Brain dead’ son enjoys Xmas after dad armed with gun refuses to let medics end his life'

This is a major problem when medicine becomes a know-it-all cult, as it is in the US. The medics will not accept their own mistakes; and this story which fortunately has a happy ending is often times not even out in the press; because the medics are able to sell their "expert opinion" to the public. Often this is with social pressure-several of them will be together when taking this decision; so the family members think that they have really some knowledge here. Unfortunately, they are being lied too with group pressure.

Keep this in mind when someone goes into coma next time, and if need be, move them to a new country rather than a country where medics have more control over a patient than their own family members.

Sanjay

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