Question

Two patients are in need of a life-saving medication of which there are a very limited supply and only enough medication for one patient. Patient A is 78 years old and in good health. Patient B is 20 years old and has multiple chronic illnesses. Which patient do you believe should receive this medication? Why?

Answer 1

This is a very difficult situation for anyone to be in. Getting to choose who lives is a very difficult choice to make. No matter how many time you do, it is as difficult the hundredth time as it is the first time.

So the fact is no one can answer this definitely as there are multiple medical, social, emotional and ethical factors involved. Every case is unique to itself in these kind of situations. But I will discuss factors to be considered and will try to get as close to the answer as possible. It's gonna be little elaborate to please bear with me here.

On one hand we have perfectly healthy 78 year old and a 20 year old with chronic illnesses. First we have to evaluate their medical condition, figure out who has a better chance of survival and how many quality life years we can add to either of them with this medication. Then, we should be able get a little clarity. Even then it wouldn't be easy to choose. Then comes social, ethical and other factors. Considering all these factors and discussing the patients, hospital, committee and all a rational decision could be made. It might not be correct or fair. But it could be the only best we could make out of the situation. There have been some similar situations in the past where the older people sacrificed themselves after being informed.

Now personally and with my professional experience I believe it would be apt to give it to the 20 year old. Cause the 78 year old patient is almost near the average life expectancy in the US. In most cases we won't add so many quality life years to him/her. They also might have had a fulfilling life. While in the case of 20 year old chronic illnesses doesn't mean they could be outright fatal. People lead quality life for as much as 4-5 decades with chronic illnesses like diabetes, hypertension and asthma with apprormedication and minor life style changes. So saving him/her would ideally add decades of quality life. But situation will be little difficult if the 20 year old has terminal end stage disease. But within my sphere of experience the rational decision would be to save 20 year old in majority of cases.

This is a brief discussion on the given topic. Hope this helps you. Please feel free to give a like and contact us if you have any queries. Thank you and have a great day.