The Center for Ethical Solutions (CES), founded by

Sigrid Fry-Revere Sigrid Fry-Revere is a medical ethicist and lawyer who has worked on many issues in patient care ethics, but most recently has been working on the rights of living organ donors. Background Fry-Revere worked as an attorney, practicing bioet ...

, is a

501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of the 29 types of ...

non-profit

bioethics Bioethics is both a field of study and professional practice, interested in ethical issues related to health (primarily focused on the human, but also increasingly includes animal ethics), including those emerging from advances in biology, me ...

think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-govern ...

based in Lovettsville, Virginia whose mission is to find practical solutions to controversial problems in the field of

medical ethics Medical ethics is an applied branch of ethics which analyzes the practice of clinical medicine and related scientific research. Medical ethics is based on a set of values that professionals can refer to in the case of any confusion or conflict. T ...

. CES supports research and public education, seeking to achieve its goals through research and developing products including books and documentary films to educate the public. Lobbying and participation in political campaigns are specifically excluded from its activities.

Projects

Current projects

*Solving the Organ Shortage :CES is studying possible ways to solve the US organ shortage by examining the different

organ donation Organ donation is the process when a person allows an organ of their own to be removed and transplanted to another person, legally, either by consent while the donor is alive or dead with the assent of the next of kin. Donation may be for re ...

systems in

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

, which has eliminated its country's waiting list for kidneysGhods, Ahad J., and Shekoufeh Savaj. 2006
Iranian Model of Paid and Regulated Living-Unrelated Kidney Donation
Clin J Am Soc Nephrol 1, no. 6 (November 1): 1136-1145. . (a claim contested by some), and

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

, which has the highest rate of organ donation in the world. Beginning in November 2008, Dr. Fry-Revere and Dr. Bahar Bastani, an American-Iranian nephrologist and professor of internal medicine at St. Louis Medical School in Missouri, traveled in Iran for six weeks to collect statistical data as well as testimonies from those involved in the transplant community there. The "Iranian model" involves legalizing compensation for organ donation, and the "Spanish model" involves a comprehensive national procurement system, maintaining positive views of organ donation in the mass media, and proactive donor detection, all coordinated by the National Transplant Organization. While Spain does employ an opt-out system for organ donation, current legislation requires consent from the relatives of the deceased before organs can be donated, and research has suggested that the increased rate of organ donation should be attributed to the actions of the National Transplant Organization and not the legislative approach. :CES is currently creating a documentary film which chronicles the struggles of American Steve Lessin as he negotiates end stage renal disease. *Meeting the Needs of America's Veterans :Though the project is still in early stages of development, CES intends to study the medical and healthcare needs of American veterans, including reintegration into society, as well as the readiness of the US healthcare system to accommodate the needs of veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Special attention will be paid to the need for mental health care, as a higher percentage of returning soldiers are experiencing

posttraumatic stress disorder Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and behavioral disorder that can develop because of exposure to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threat ...

than from previous military operations. *Legal Trends in Bioethics :Starting in the Fall of 2009 CES will publish Legal Trends in Bioethics through its website. Previously a column in the quarterly Journal of Clinical Ethics, Legal Trends tracks developments in the field of bioethics. "Through publication on the Internet, the information provided by the column will be more up-to-date and relevant for anyone interested in tracking legal issues in bioethics." Past editions authored by Sigrid Fry-Revere will also be available through the websit

*Fact Sheets
Quick Facts Sheet on Kidney Disease and the Organ ShortageQuick Facts Sheet on PTSD (Posttraumatic Stress Disorder) and TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury)

Proposed projects

*Pain Management :This project explores social attitudes towards and public awareness of the need for

pain management Pain management is an aspect of medicine and health care involving relief of pain (pain relief, analgesia, pain control) in various dimensions, from acute and simple to chronic and challenging. Most physicians and other health professionals pr ...

with potentially addictive

opiate An opiate, in classical pharmacology, is a substance derived from opium. In more modern usage, the term '' opioid'' is used to designate all substances, both natural and synthetic, that bind to opioid receptors in the brain (including antagoni ...

s for patients with end-of-life or serious

chronic pain Chronic pain is classified as pain that lasts longer than three to six months. In medicine, the distinction between acute and chronic pain is sometimes determined by the amount of time since onset. Two commonly used markers are pain that continue ...

. *Patient Advocacy :CES plans to examine whether

patient advocacy Patient advocacy is a process in health care concerned with advocacy for patients, survivors, and caregivers. The patient advocate may be an individual or an organization, concerned with healthcare standards or with one specific group of disord ...

can or should be integrated into common healthcare practices. Currently, the private sector offers private advocates who oversee customers' medical care and act as liaisons between patients and healthcare providers, but this service is often financially accessible to only the wealthy.Lloyd, Christopher (2009-02-02)
Entrepreneurs pursuing patient advocacy trend
AllBusiness. Retrieved on 2009-07-06.

References

External links

Center for Ethical Solutions
{{DEFAULTSORT:Center For Ethical Solutions Medical ethics Non-profit organizations based in Virginia Think tanks based in the United States