Organ Transplant Ethics
June 12-16, 2023
3rd edition of the Summer School series on The Age Criterion
Rolling admissions open until May 1, 2023
VIU Scientific Coordinators: Agar Brugiavini, Ca' Foscari University of Venice & Venice International University; Fabrizio Turoldo, Ca' Foscari University of Venice
The program offers professionals, students and early career researchers the opportunity to critically reflect, with the help of highly qualified experts, on topical issues that raise ethical and deontological dilemmas, relating to health care ethics.
A fundamental feature of the School concerns its method, which is characterized by a continuous and intense interdisciplinary exchange between doctors, philosophers, economists, jurists, psychiatrists and sociologists.
During this third edition, the course will focus on the problem of organ transplant ethics: the different issues raised require interdisciplinary reflection. In the procurement phase it is necessary to know how to interpret and apply the "dead donor rule". Moreover, a certain definition of death can encounter resistance and opposition in some ethnic and cultural contexts. Another problem, in this phase, may concern the correct collection of consent and the possible management of intra-family conflicts regarding donation. Various difficulties may also arise at the transplant stage: for example, the refusal (for non-medical reason) of a blood transfusion of a transplant candidate, or the use and discarding of the so-called "marginal organs", also difficult to solve. Can everyone be a donor? Is it ethically acceptable for a young child to donate the organ to an elderly parent? Are there any risks of donor conditioning? How to define therapeutic obstinacy in a field where we are dealing with complex patients whose possible outcome is not known with certainty? How to select patients? How to prioritize access to transplants?
The Summer School will allow the participants to reflect on all these issues, through intense debates.
Contributing member universities:
- Ca’ Foscari University of Venice
- KU Leuven
- Tor Vergata University of Rome
- University of Padua
External contributing institutions:
- National Transplant Center (CNT), Italian National Institute of Health (ISS)
- Research Center for Clinical Ethics (CREC), University of Insubria
Faculty
Mark Aulisio, Case Western University, USA
Giampaolo Azzoni, University of Pavia, IT
Agar Brugiavini, Ca' Foscari University of Venice & Venice International University, IT
Massimo Cardillo, National Transplant Center, IT
Michele Colledan, Transplant Center ASST Giovanni XXIII & University of Milano-Bicocca, IT
Antonio Da Re, University of Padua, IT
Tullia De Feo, NITp, IT
Maria Do Céu Patrão Neves, University of the Azores, PT
Francesca Ferri, IRCCS Foundation Ca' Granda, IT
Chris Gastmans, KU Leuven, BE
Michele Gazich, IT
Andrea Gianelli Castiglione, IRCCS San Martino, IT
Alessandra Grossi, University of Insubria, IT
Paolo Antonio Grossi, University of Insubria, IT
John Harris, University of Manchester, UK
Carlo Petrini, National Institute of Health, IT
Mario Picozzi, University of Insubria, IT
Francesco Procaccio, National Transplant Center, IT
Stefano Semplici, Tor Vergata University of Rome, IT
Giovanni Spitale, University of Zurich, CH
Fabrizio Turoldo, Ca' Foscari University of Venice, IT
Sergio Vesconi, Transplant Foundation, IT
Which are the main activities?
- Presentations in the fields of biomedicine, bioethics, psychiatrics, sociology, moral philosophy, philosophy of science, geriatrics, epidemiology, patient care, health economics, public health, demography and history of art;
- Interactive sessions, such as “tutoring sessions”, aimed at giving participants the opportunity to discuss their own research ideas with senior speakers in individual or small group meetings.
What’s special about the Summer School?
Physicians, high-level policy makers or officials who may take part in this program will be able to learn how to connect issues between the health dimension of organ transplantation and the ethic, legal and economic ones.
Attending the school means developing transversal competences since the approach is multidisciplinary, and those who have a specific philosophical, economic or sociological background will know more about medical advances in medical research and ethical issues related to healthcare, learning the specific language in which MDs deal with these issues as well.
Learning Outcomes
The course allows students, researchers and professionals from various fields to hone important skills that are located in an interdisciplinary terrain. Professional ethics and deontology are in fact transversal sectors, useful and necessary in the most diverse professional contexts.
Physicians, jurists, philosophers, economists, sociologists and political scientists will have the opportunity to test different perspectives of thought and different theoretical systems in the light of extremely important and current case studies.
Who can apply?
Professionals in the health care sector, undergraduates, graduates, PhD students and post-doc scholars in medicine, philosophy, political sciences, sociology, social work, economics, statistics sciences.
Credits
A Certificate of attendance will be issued at the end of the course.
Number of ECTS equivalence: 3
The Program will admit 35 participants.
Applicants must submit the application form, a brief motivation letter including candidate’s interests and research, and a curriculum vitae with photo.
Fees
Applicants from VIU member universities: € 300 incl. VAT
Other applicants: € 600 incl. VAT
The fee will cover tuition, teaching materials, lunches in the San Servolo cafeteria and social events.
Student participants will be responsible for covering their own travel expenses to and from Venice, local transportation, and evening meals.
Accommodation costs on campus
Venice International University offers its support to book accommodation on San Servolo Campus, in multiple rooms with other participants for the duration of the Summer School: further information about the costs will be available in the Brochure and Application form.
For further information:
ageing@univiu.org
