Will medical technologies save our minds and bodies?

1. TECHNOLOGY WILL
SAVE OUR MINDS AND
BODIES
By: Laura Hanousek

2. Controversial, Ethical, and Moral Issues
• Over the past 300 years amazing improvements have been made in
medical technologies
• Modern medical technologies have provided new hope. People no
longer accept death as a result of God’s plan, instead we expect that
a cure will be developed in time to spare our lives (Volti, 6th Edition)
• Medical advances have made possible prevention of disease,
replacement and transplanting of organs, and major surgeries.
• With these procedures comes controversial, ethical and moral
questions, concerns and difficulties.
• Throughout this presentation we will visit preimplantation genetic
diagnosis, transplanting and developing organs, major surgeries and
the issues surrounding all three of these medical technological
advances.

3. PREIMPLANTATION
GENETIC DIAGNOSIS
PGD

4. What is Preimplantation Genetic Diagnoses?
• Developed in the early 1900s
• Technique used to identify genetic defects in
embryos.
• Currently the only option available to avoid having a
child with a genetic disease.
• Process typically used to screen out embryos carrying
genetic disease.
• Procedure used for “family balancing” (controlling
the number of male and/or female offspring in a
family) (Shier, Butler, & Lewis, 2012)

5. Procedure
• Sperm and egg are joined in a laboratory dish
• Single cell is removed from the embryo and tested
• Cell biopsy is performed at 3-4 days after fertilization
• Genetic material is analysed
• Based on results parents can choose which embryo to implant
• Embryos are implanted by in vitro fertilization
• PGD is typically accompanied by hormone treatment (Shier, Butler,
& Lewis, 2012)

6. Why was it developed?
• For when parents (one or both) have a known genetic abnormality
and they do not want to pass it down to their offspring
• Provides an alternative to post conception diagnostic procedures
which are followed by a difficult decision to terminate the
pregnancy if the results are unfavourable.
• To increase the chance of pregnancy, reducing the risk of
miscarriage, and improve the overall chances of bringing home a
happy, healthy baby. (Medscape, 2012) (Shier, Butler, & Lewis, 2012)

7. What are they testing for?
• Single celled gene disorders, and chromosome gene disorders that
do not run in the family such as: Down syndrome, turner
syndrome.
• Chromosome and gene disorders that do run in the family such as:
cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy, spinal muscular dystrophy.
• HLA (human leukocyte antigen) status which is testing for healthy
bone marrow that matches another family members.
• Gender (Shier, Butler, & Lewis, 2012)

8. Should couples be allowed to…
• Test for gender -> purely for gender preference?
• Test for bone marrow ->Match to a family member that is
immunological??
• Test embryos for gene mutations that indicate a higher risk of
developing disease such as hereditary breast cancer???
Someday in the future parents will be able to test for:
• Intelligence
• Height
• Mild diseases

9. Cost and Future Trends…. ?
• A round of in vitro fertilization costs approximately $9000
• PGD costs an additional $4000-$7500 for each attempt
• Standard round of INF has a 10-35% success rate depending on the
age and health of the couple.
• As a result of these high costs, genetic disorders could one day
become a stigma effecting only the lower class.
Should the upper class be permitted to completely formulate their
offspring?? What would be the positive and negative effects of this?
To name a few…
Positive Negative
• Genetic disease and • Boy to girl ratio, in some
cancer would be a areas boys are more
thing of the past desired
• Upper, middle, and lower
class would be spread
further apart

10. REPLACEMENT AND
TRANSPLANTING OF
ORGANS

11. Who qualifies for a liver transplant?
• If a patient has abused their body with substance abuse to the
point that they are in need of a new liver should they be able to
receive a new one? What if they are wealthy enough to buy one?
• Chemotherapy drugs are toxins designed to kill cancer cells..
However they may also cause severe liver damage. Should these
patients be at the top of the list for a liver transplant?
• The liver is unlike most organs in that it can regenerate.
• Up to 75% of a liver can be destroyed and the organ can regenerate
and recover.
• The liver has over 500 functions, and is the second most commonly
transplanted major organ.
(Shier, Butler, & Lewis, 2012)

12. The kidney is the most commonly transplanted
major organ…
• The function of kidneys is removing metabolic wastes from the
blood and diluting them with water and electrolytes to form urine.
• A person with kidney failure would experience fluid retention,
high blood pressure, toxin build up and lack of red blood cells
(Shier, Butler, & Lewis, 2012)
• There is a massive shortage of kidney donations, and
approximately 70,000 people will die in the United States each
year awaiting a transplant (WebMD, 2012)
• Since there is such a shortage, the only other option
is to medically grow them.. right?

13. Engineering Organs aka Organ Farming…
• Although still in the research stage regenerative medicine technology
could be the solution for patients with injuries, or end-stage organ
failure.
• Patients who undergo organ transplants require extreme toxic drugs
to suppress their immune systems otherwise it is probable that their
will reject the organ.
• Tissue engineering could make organ transplants a thing of the past,
By custom making organs for patients with their own cells. (Halley,
2009)

14. MAJOR SURGERIES

15. Major Surgeries
• The development of safe and efficient general anesthesia and
prescription drugs has greatly reduced the level of pain patients
undergo during and after a major surgery.
• The medical advances in surgery have offset the number one killer
in the United States- Cardiovascular disease.
• It used to be that people with weakened hearts and clogged
arteries would ultimately die of heart attach or stroke sooner rather
than later.
• Now-a-days bypass surgery is a common procedure. 94% of patients
who had the surgery were still alive 5 years later.
• Once the development of artificial hearts has been perfected,
bypass surgery could be a thing of the past….. But it will come with
a substantial price tag. (Volti, 6th Edition)

16. Bypass Surgery Procedure
• Bypass surgery is used to treat heart disease when the coronary
arteries have a blockage. The coronary arteries bring blood to the
heart muscle. A blockage in the coronary artery can cause heart
failure, heart attacks, angina, and sudden death.
• Bypass surgery is where a blood vessel is removed and redirected
from your chest legs or arms and placed around the area or areas
(up to 4 areas can be bypassed) of obstructed veins to "bypass" the
blockages and restore blood flow to the heart muscle.

17. Self Inflicted?
• A blocked coronary artery is often caused by high fat salty diets
including foods such as: cakes, butter, cream, fatty meats etc.
• Other causes of heart disease are: smoking, obesity, high
cholesterol, and high blood pressure.
• Most of these causes can be avoided by living a healthy lifestyle, so
many of these surgeries could have ultimately been avoided, saving
millions of dollars in healthcare costs. (WebMD, 2012)
• Knowing that these medical advances exist, and that bypass
surgery is a common method of repair, do people use that as an
excuse?
• If patients had to pay for bypass surgeries would they make more
of an effort to live a healthier lifestyle?

18. Preserving Life
• Due to the constant advances in medical technology humans are
living longer, and healthier lives than ever before. We are more
aware of the negative repercussions of an unhealthy lifestyle and
poor personal hygiene.
• How much longer will people be having babies the old fashioned
way instead of in a petri dish?
• I don’t agree that people should be able to CHOOSE the sex of their
child, but I do agree that parents should be able to test for
chromosomal abnormalities preconception, to avoid passing down
a genetic disease.
• I think that regardless of organ engineering we should keep in mind
that our organs are not disposable, we should preserve the ones we
have, and save the engineered ones for people who truly need
them.
• Medical technology is remarkable, but lets take responsibility for
what we have control over, and not leave it up to science.

19. Conclusion
Now that we’ve come to the conclusion that medical technology helps to
preserve life resulting in longer life expectancies, what are some of the
positive and negative effects of this on society? To name a few…
Positive Negative
• Senior population will be healthier • Older, retired population, unable to work,
than ever before shortage of pensions, ratio of retired
• An increase in generations being people to working people
alive at the same time • Crowded retirement facilities
• Women focus on a career prior to • Shortage of doctors to care for aging
having children population
• Aging population and developing
medical technology has created
jobs
In my opinion the positive effects of medical technology outweigh the negative
effects by far because many preventable deaths have been avoided , as well as the
quality of life has been improved, not only for people with medical illness, but for the
rest of the population as well.

20. References
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http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2007/jul/17/medicineandhealth.health
Halley, D. (2009). Growing organs in the lab. Retrieved 07 26, 2012, from science, technology, the future
of mankind: http://singularityhub.com/2009/06/08/growing-organs-in-the-lab/
Medscape. (2012). Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis. Retrieved 07 24, 2012, from Medscape:
http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/273415-overview
PGD Q and A. (2012). PGD. Retrieved 07 24, 2012, from Fertility O:
http://www. fertilityproregistry.com/content/pgd_sex_selection.asp
Shier, D., Butler, J., & Lewis, R. (2012). Human anatomy and physiology. New York : Mcgraw Hill.
Volti, R. (6th Edition). Society and technological change. New York: Worth Publishers.
WebMD. (2012). Heart Bypass Surgery. Retrieved 07 26, 2012, from Heart Disease Health Center:
http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/heart-disease-bypass-surgery
WebMD. (2012). Kidney transplant. Retrieved 07 26, 2012, from Emedicine Health:
http://www.emedicinehealth.com/kidney_transplant/article_em.htm

21. Photo Citations
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http://www.whatajewel.com/store/index.php?cPath=34
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http://health.howstuffworks.com/human-body/parts/bodily-organ-pictures24.htm
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