Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Health Sciences Quarterly, cilt.2, sa.2, ss.81-90, 2022 (Hakemli Dergi)
Composite tissue transplantation has gained a new dimension in line with advanced technological developments.
In extremity losses, the traditionally implemented procedure is to enable the extremity to regain its functionality
through replantation instead of transplantation. On the other hand, innovative studies are also carried out to sup-
port and strengthen the human body and improve the problematic body functions for increasing patients’ quality
of life. Studies on developing biomechatronic systems, which are related to biology, neurology, biophysics, me-
chanics, biomedical and tissue engineering, electronics, and computer sciences, are in progress, which indicates
that a transformation has occurred in the approaches to composite tissue transplantation. This study aims to gener-
ate ideas about determining a conventional limit in the interventions towards the human body against the techno-
logical and scientific developments and to perform a value analysis on such interventions. This study was designed
within the framework of the methodology of medical ethics and in the light of the slippery slope argument. The
process of transformation from the medical procedures that aim to protect patients’ bodily integrity to the inno-
vative practices that provide an opportunity to bionically turn healthy human bodies into the half machine and
half-human is investigated in the light of the slippery slope argument. This study indicated that the value-related
problems regarding this issue are related to the principles of respect for autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence,
and justice. The limit to be determined for the practices that aim to protect the patients’ bodily integrity and in-
crease their quality of life and that are not life-saving depends on the distinction between an ill body and a healthy
body. A meticulous clinical perspective and legislative regulations that prevent the instrumentalization of humans
are required so as not to roll down to undesirable places on a slope. Advanced technological developments are
implemented in medicine, protecting human dignity should be adopted as a fundamental value.