Similarly, nearly all religions support voluntary organ donation as a charitable act of great benefit to the community. Certain small faiths such as Jehovah Witnesses and Shinto are opposed to organ donation based upon religious teachings; for Jehovah Witnesses this opposition is absolute whereas there exists increasing flexibility amongst Shinto scholars. The Roma People, are also often opposed to organ donation based on prevailing spiritual beliefs and not religious views per se. Issues surrounding patient autonomy, living wills, and guardianship make it nearly impossible for involuntary organ donation to occur. From the standpoint of deontological ethics, the primary issues surrounding the morality of organ donation are semantic in nature. The debate over the definitions of life, death, human, and body is ongoing. For example, whether or not a brain-dead patient ought to be kept artificially animate in order to preserve organs for donation is an ongoing problem in clinical bioethics. In addition, some have argued that organ donation constitutes an act of self-harm, even when an organ is donated willingly.Further, the use of cloning to produce organs with a genotype identical to the recipient is a controversial topic, especially considering the possibility for an entire person to be brought into being for the express purpose of being destroyed for organ procurement. While the benefit of such a cloned organ would be a zero-percent chance of transplant rejection, the ethical issues involved with creating and killing a clone may outweigh these benefits.
Synchysis scintillans is a degenerative condition of the eye resulting in liquefied vitreous humor and the accumulation of cholesterol crystals within the vitreous. It is also known as cholesterolosis bulbi. The vitreous liquifies in a process known as syneresis. Synchysis scintillans appears as small white floaters that freely move in the posterior part of the eye, giving a snow globe effect. It is most commonly seen in eyes that have suffered from a degenerative disease and are end-stage.The condition is seen rarely. Associated with the advanced stages of diabetic retinopathy, but the exact pathogenesis is unknown. The condition is symptomless and untreatable. In ophthalmoscopic examination it appears as small, flat, yellow, highly refractive crystals of cholesterol floating freely in the vitreous. These will settle, due to gravity, if the eye is immobilized. == References ==