{Topics on 03.03} Please Make Sure to Study Hard in Advance & Post a Comment＜정참,지참,불참＞

[Doo ^^]

[TOPIC 01] Law on organ transplants outdated

The government is considering revising a law on organ transplants following the miraculous transplant of seven organs at one time to a seven-year-old girl.

Cho Eun-seo, who had suffered from chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction syndrome for six years, received a new lease of life after the unprecedented multiple organ transplant conducted by a team led by Kim Dae-yeon, a pediatric surgeon at the Seoul Asan Medical Center.

However, the surgery, conducted last fall and announced Saturday by the hospital, was technically illegal as the current law only allows the transplant of three of the seven organs.

Of those transplanted to Cho, the liver, pancreas and small intestines are allowed by law, but the other four organs — the stomach, duodenum, large intestine and spleen — are not, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare.

Kim and other doctors claim the current law restricting the types of organs permitted to be transplanted should be amended.

Under the current law, on top of the three organs mentioned above, six others are permitted — kidneys, heart, lungs, bone marrow, eyes, and pancreatic islets of Langerhans.

All transplants of organs before Cho’s surgery involved a maximum of three organs and it is the first time that the four “illegal” organs have been transplanted at a domestic hospital.

Kim and other doctors are calling for the government to amend the law which they said is outdated.

“The patient was under an emergency situation at that time, and it’s burdensome for the doctors as some of the body parts which I delivered to my recipient are prohibited by law,” he said. “That’s why the government should revise the law.”

However, the government has no legal grounds to punish the doctor for the violation of the law as it lacks clauses on punishment.

“It’s ambiguous to call the transplant an outright illegal practice as there are no rules on punishment, though it’s not permitted to transplant organs other than the nine allowed under the current law,” a ministry official said.

He said the ministry will convene a medical ethics committee to discuss whether to add other organs to the list.

The ministry official brought up the case in the United States, saying “The United States is open in terms of transplants regardless of any kinds of organs.”

“We will discuss with experts to consider to what extent we can promote leniency on the current restrictions,” he said.

1. Even though it is an extremely dangerous or illegal operation, do we have to do that or not? What's your opinion?

2. What do you know about organ transplants?

3. Would you allow the organs of a loved one to be transplanted?

4. Would you accept to have an animals heart it could save your life?

5. What would you think if your government paid for a serial killer in prison to have an organ transplant?

6. Which of your organs would you want for organ transplants after you die?

7. Are you a different person if you have a heart transplant?

[TOPIC 02] Consumers Spend More on Brand-Name Apartments

Despite a slump in the housing market, people are still willing to pay more for brand-name apartments, according to a straw poll. In the poll of 660 men and women across the country released by an estate agency in January, some 80 percent of respondents said they would spend more to buy an apartment by their favorite firm of brand-name developers.

Asked how much more they would pay, the largest proportion, or 43.6 percent, said they are ready to pay up to 5 percent more than for other brands with the same terms and conditions, or an extra W15 million (US$1=W1,146) if they buy an apartment worth W300 million.

About one-third or 30.5 percent even said they would be willing to pay up to 10 percent more. Some 86.5 percent said they believe that the brand-name affects the value of apartments.

"Despite the real estate slump, consumers seem to expect that the prices of apartments with high brand value will rise more than those of others," the realtor said.

The most sought-after apartment brands are Samsung C&T Corporation's Raemian, Daewoo E&C's Prugio, and GS E&C's Xi. More than half of respondents, or 51 percent, said they prefer them because of their good quality and functionality. Others cited the solid financial structure of the developer and safety of apartments (16.5 percent) and high investment value (12.6 percent).

1. Where do you want to live? an apartment, mansion, or single-unit house?

2. Is buying an apartment a good investment for Koreans? Why or why not? How about other countries?

3. Why do you think apartments are expensive?

4. What do you look for in buying an apartment?

5. If you'll find a cheap apartment, would Koreans buy it immediately? Why or why not?

6. Why does the name or brand of the apartment developer matters when Koreans buy apartments?

[까미]

일뜽 ~~ 감사합니데이^.^

[Jae-Heon (이재헌)]

감사합니다 ^^ 정참이요~

[Teddy(두희)]

굿잡 두~ 이번주는 개인 사정으로 불참합니다~ ㅎㅎ 다다음주에 보아요~ ^^

[랑드가]

정시참석 해보도록 노력해보겠습니다! (화담을 한번에 찾아야 할텐데....@_@)

[Jae-Heon (이재헌)]

유니클로 맞은편 골목으로 들어오세요 ㅎㅎ

[jaguar]

스터디 정시참석 / 2 차도 참석 / 2차는 어디로 가면 좋을까요 ? ㅋ

[Gina(진아)]

참석!!~^^

[sujiQ]

스터디 참석/ 2차 는 pass(금주기간)/ love is all around if you're willing to feel it ^^

[jaguar]

진짜? ㅋㅋ

[다리아]

지난 주 간다고 해놓구선 못 갔네에요 이번주 지참이요 ;;;

[Serena]

스터디 참석합니다^^

[claire]

정참예정*^^*

[tomas(토마스)]

정참하러 가야지~~

[seon(써니^ㅁ^)]

정참이요 :) 헤헤~

[대박인생]

정참해볼래요.. 전엔 어딘지 몰라서 헤메다 결국 참석 못했네요 ㅠㅠ

[joshua]

처음인데 참석하고 싶네요~^^ 정참이요

[다잘될꼬야]

지참^^

[조오석]

다음주 토픽은 언제 올라오죠?

[Doo ^^]

매주 수, 목요일에 올라옵니다.