Navigating Health Ethics of Medicine with Dr. Arthur Caplan

In this interview with ⁤Dr. Arthur Caplan, the Director of the Division of Medical Ethics at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine, he shares his engagement in health, the inspiration behind his impactful work, and his significant contributions to bioethics. ⁤

⁤Dr. Caplan's journey began when he had polio during his childhood. ⁤⁤During his time in the hospital, he questioned the ethics surrounding the lack of transparency with him and other young patients. ⁤⁤He had trouble understanding as a child why he could not see his family and dog. ⁤⁤The truth was that hospitals did not tell patients the truth about death. ⁤⁤His early exposure to healthcare and his firsthand experience seeing a lack of transparency became a foundation for his interest in medical ethics. ⁤

Founder of the Center for Bioethics and the Department of Medical Ethics at the University of Pennsylvania, Caplan shared the challenges and successes in creating institutional homes for bioethics. ⁤⁤He aimed to provide faculty with career support and the requisite skills to succeed. He sees mentorship as the single most important role an academic leader can play. ⁤

Throughout the years, ⁤he has been highly involved with organ donation. ⁤⁤Advocating for required requests for organ donation and contributing to creating a systematic organ allocation system made progress in addressing  multiple problems within transplant medicine. ⁤⁤In his interview with ODAC, he discusses his perspective on issues such as multiple listings where the rich enroll at many transplant centers simultaneously  and the need to address economic disparities in organ transplantation due to the ongoing battle against inequities in organ donation. ⁤⁤Everyone needs organ donations, not only the rich and insured  who the organs often  go to. Living donors also need reimbursement for their expenses and any medical bills. ⁤

Importantly, Dr. Caplan addresses common misconceptions about organ donation, especially the uncertainty that people have when considering it because of complications such would they be eligible to receive an organ due to a lack of health insurance.⁤⁤ He emphasizes the importance of disproving such myths and encourages more people, especially young adults, to consider organ donation. ⁤

In regards to the future of healthcare ethics, Dr. Caplan discusses artificial intelligence’s role in healthcare, the impact of climate change, and the game-changing developments in vaccination against diseases like malaria and herpes. ⁤⁤Although he believes it is too early for AI to replace doctors because of issues with monitoring the accuracy of AI, he believes it can help improve current systems. ⁤⁤With climate change, animals moving closer to people raises health concerns, like dengue and Zika, which have previously never occurred in the Americas. ⁤⁤Malaria is the leading cause of death in developing countries, so vaccinations to counter it will save millions of lives. ⁤⁤He speaks of potential advancements in transplantation using stem cells and mechanical organs, which have seen an increase in prevalence and quality over the years. 

As a major contributor to medicine and education, ⁤Dr. Caplan directs many ongoing projects at NYU, focusing on vaccine communication, transplant ethics, aging/longevity, and reproductive ethics. ⁤⁤Through his interdisciplinary work, he aims to address current challenges and contribute to ethics in medical care. ⁤

Dr. Caplan advises young adults to donate organs to save not just one life but many, especially as major religions do not discourage it, stating, "It's a real benefit to the community. It's not something that religious leaders think interferes with burial or... anything like that so it's seen by many cultures and many religious traditions as absolutely a good." 

In the conclusion of our conversation, Dr. Caplan gives a shout-out to the transplant community over his career "as people who both help, but also are open to criticism," finding the transplant community to be one that is open, receptive, and willing to engage in dialogue, critique and reform.