Doctors in state-run hospitals in Syria are facing a grievous trade-off: to offer treatment and risk torture to patients and possibly themselves, or withhold treatment to those under their care. A report by Amnesty International, published on Oct 25, 2011, alleges that patients with firearms injuries admitted to state-run hospitals are being targeted and tortured by the authorities to quell dissent that has spread throughout the country since March, 2011. The central blood bank, which is controlled by the Syrian Ministry of Defence, is the sole provider of blood. Therefore, doctors face a dilemma every time they receive a patient with firearm injuries: if they request blood for transfusion, the authorities will be alerted, putting the patient at risk of arrest, torture, and death.
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