The urgent need for advance directives in India.

ABSTRACT

Many individuals at the end of life are unable to convey their wishes regarding medical treatments. Advance directives (ADs) or living wills (LWs) allow them to crystallise their wishes in a written form so that these can be carried out if the relevant situation arises. In many countries, ADs are legally valid and enforceable; they reduce the use of life-sustaining treatments, which often merely prolong life without improving or even maintaining the quality of life. Such treatment puts a financial burden on the patient’s family, often leading to penury. Resources are limited, the more so in countries like ours, and should be spent only when/where they can make a difference. The general public is not well versed in the advantages and disadvantages of life-sustaining treatments and needs to be educated on how to distinguish between them. A well-designed legislation for legalising ADs would help society at large. In addition to legalising ADs, some countries are contemplating making them compulsory. We could learn from them and empower our citizens by giving them the right to self-determination at the end of life.