Kerala: Breaking the taboo around 'living wills' in India

A living will lets people choose the medical care they want to receive if they develop a terminal illness.

British Broadcasting CorporationWatch LiveHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthVideoLiveHomeNewsIsrael-Gaza WarWar in UkraineUS & CanadaUKUK PoliticsEnglandN. IrelandN. Ireland PoliticsScotlandScotland PoliticsWalesWales PoliticsAfricaAsiaChinaIndiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastIn PicturesBBC InDepthBBC VerifySportBusinessExecutive LoungeTechnology of BusinessFuture of BusinessInnovationTechnologyScience & HealthArtificial IntelligenceAI v the MindCultureFilm & TVMusicArt & DesignStyleBooksEntertainment NewsArtsArts in MotionTravelDestinationsAfricaAntarcticaAsiaAustralia and PacificCaribbean & BermudaCentral AmericaEuropeMiddle EastNorth AmericaSouth AmericaWorld’s TableCulture & ExperiencesAdventuresThe SpeciaListEarthNatural WondersWeather & ScienceClimate SolutionsSustainable BusinessGreen LivingVideoLiveLive NewsLive SportHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthVideoLiveAudioWeatherNewslettersDying with dignity: Breaking the taboo around 'living wills' in India14 hours agoCherylann MollanBBC News, MumbaiGetty ImagesHealth activists are helping champion the idea of living wills in IndiaIn 2010, IP Yadev, a surgeon from the southern Indian state of Kerala, was confronted with one of the hardest decisions of his life.

He had to decide between keeping his father - a terminal cancer patient - alive, and honouring his wish, expressed verbally, to stop all treatments and put an end to his suffering.

Warning: This article contains some distressing details

"As a son, I felt it was my duty to do whatever I could to prolong my father's life. This made him unhappy and he ended up dying alone in an intensive-care unit. The doctor's last efforts to revive him using CPR crushed his ribs. It was a horrible death," Dr Yadev says.

The experience, he says, deeply impacted him and helped him realise the importance of advance medical directives (AMDs), also known as living wills.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckgyq735wnlo

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