Ethical frontiers in liver transplantation

Liver transplantation represents a pivotal intervention in the management of end-stage liver disease,offering a lifeline to countless patients.Despite significant strides in surgical techniques and organ procurement,ethical dilemmas and de-bates continue to underscore this life-saving procedure.Navigating the ethical terrain surrounding this complex procedure is hence paramount.Dissecting the nuances of ethical principles of justice,autonomy and beneficence that underpin transplant protocols worldwide,we explore the modern challenges that plaques the world of liver transplantation.We investigate the ethical dimensions of organ transplantation,focusing on allocation,emerging technologies,and decision-making processes.PubMed,Scopus,Web of Science,Embase and Central were searched from database inception to February 29,2024 using the following key-words:“liver transplant”,“transplantation”,“liver donation”,“liver recipient”,“organ donation”and“ethics”.Information from relevant articles surrounding ethical discussions in the realm of liver transplantation,especially with regards to organ recipients and allocation,organ donation,transplant tourism,new age technologies and developments,were extracted.From the definition of death to the long term follow up of organ recipients,liver transplantation has many ethical quandaries.With new transplant techniques,societal acceptance and perceptions also play a pivotal role.Cultural,religious and regional factors including but not limited to beliefs,wealth and accessibility are extremely influential in public at-titudes towards donation,xenotransplantation,stem cell research,and adopting artificial intelligence.Understanding and addressing these perspectives whilst upholding bioethical principles is essential to ensure just distribution and fair allocation of resources.Robust regulatory oversight for ethical sourcing of organs,ensuring good patient selection and transplant techniques,and high-quality long-term surveillance to mitigate risks is essential.Efforts to promote equitable access to transplantation as well as prioritizing patients with true needs are essential to address disparities.In conclusion,liver transplantation is often the beacon of hope for individuals suffering from end-stage liver disease and improves quality of life.The ethics related to transplantation are complex and multifaceted,considering not just the donor and the recipient,but also the society as a whole.

Can Quality of Content Be a Differentiator for Broadcast Programs？ A Case Study in Japan

This paper discusses the idea that the industry can have a differentiator of program quality by encouraging the activities of the Broadcasting Ethics ＆ Program Improvement Organization （BPO） in Japan. The BPO, a worldwide independent organization, has a mission of a breakwater against state power, and thus can be regarded as a kind of media accountability system, as proposed by Claude-Jean Bertrand. We review some controversial affairs in the TV industry and discuss BPO＇s activities aimed preventing ＂yellow journalism＂ and improving the quality of programming. High-quality content may be a differentiator for viewers faced with a choice of media, and thus, we focus on BPO and its role as a differentiator of the Japanese TV industry among the other, especially, Internet media. We also propose four ideas in response of critiques of BPO. Those are to strengthen transparency of governance of BPO, to improve the conformity of the TV industry to BPO＇s assessments of it, to establish a new committee to examine the whole concept of journalism, and to introduce a new certification institution to guarantee quality.