Mangaluru: Despite the deteriorating value system, ethical issues continue to play a critical role in transforming the society into a more healthier one, remarked Dr. Vasantha Muthuswamy, Senior Deputy Director General (Rtd.), ICMR, New Delhi.
Responding to the felicitation rendered to her by the Centre for Ethics, Yenepoya University in Deralakatte on Monday, she emphasised the need for accreditation of all the ethics committees.
Complementing the establishing of Centre for Ethics – one of its kind in the country – she felt glad to note that the younger generation is striving to do their bit towards enhancing the safety of the society.
Elaborating her experiences in the field of medical sciences and administration, she reminisced that due to regulatory authorities and new notifications, things have changed for the better in the past ten years and that there is greater awareness among professionals on the importance of the ethical issues. There is still a huge scope for further improvement, she noted.
Presiding over the occasion, Dr. Vijay Kumar, Vice-chancellor, Yenepoya University, stressed the need for inculcation of personal ethics and humane values from the fundamental unit of the society which is the family. Ethics is an integral part of human rights, he said, adding that it was not a sin to gather wealth and become rich, but it should be on the principles of hard work and ethics.
Welcoming the gathering, Dr. Vina Vaswani, Director, Centre for Ethics, said that it was an enriching experience to have initiated the department and felt that all those who have undergone the programmes at the Centre have enabled them to inculcate strong sense of ethics in their professional and daily lives.
ENCIRCLE, the Ethics Club of Yenepoya University was e-launched by Dr. Vasantha Muthuswamy. The aim of this club is to facilitate discussion in ethics so as to embed it in health care. Dr. Harikishore informed about the aims and objectives of the club.
In the inaugural edition of the club, Dr. Uma Kulkarni, Professor, Ophthalmology, presented the book review of ‘The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks’ by Rebecca Skloot. Henrietta Lacks is the original donor of the HeLa Cells which have been cultured and extensively used for various medical purposes, heralding a revolution in the medical field. The question of ethics pertaining to the case was raised as her cells were used, cultured, marketed and multiplied without any kind of a prior consent or compensation to her or her family.
Prof.Abdul Rahiman, Former Vice Chancellor, Kannur and Calicut Universities, Dr. Ravi Vaswani, Professor, Dept.of Internal Medicine, and alumni of Centre for Ethics were present.
Dr. Leena, Chief Museum Curator proposed the vote of thanks.
