End-of-life issues for a modern India - Lessons learnt in the West

Consideration of end-of-life issues is a relatively new phenomenon in the Indian context. It is difficult to assess the magnitude of the problem except the certainty that these issues will affect more patients and their families in the future. The approaches used in the West to prepare patients and public in general such as living will and durable power of attorney have not always been useful. The religious and social attitudes have an effect on facing end-of-life issues and yet these attitudes are in transition. The lack of education in bioethics and paucity of case law is reviewed. New approaches to the end-of-life issues in the light of experience gained in the West are suggested.