Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country situated in northern Europe. Itis a member of the European Union. Its population stands at 3.3662 millionIts population is 3.4 million.

A complete description of the Lithuanian Health Care System available online at:

World Health Organization - Regional Office for Europe

Advance Directives are not regulated by any specific law in Lithuania and t here is not any particular bill regarding this subject.

Advance Directives in Lithuanian can be named as:

· Išankstinis gyvenimo valios pareiškimas

· Išankstin direktyva

The possibility to designate a healthcare proxy regarding a minor and mentally ill patients is recommended by the “Lithuanian law on Patient Rights” (Available online at http://bioetika.sam.lt/index.php?-2078631572 )

The number of ADs, if any, must be very low, due to there is neither legislation nor information about this topic. The issue of ADs has not yet been raised in Lithuania and such debate has not yet started.

The AD are not officially integrated into the medical decision-making in Lithuania, but some surveys (however which are not representative or not directly addressed the issue of AD) indicate that there are quite high acceptance of potential AD among physicians of the secondary and third health care levels and among nursing students (approximately, 3 from 4 expressed their positive attitude to the AD).

Generally speaking, the citizens of Lithuania do not complete ADs. No register of ADs exists. As a result, it is impossible to know whether some people have already completed them, whether before a notary public or by another method.

Advance Directives are not regulated by any specific law in Lithuania and t here is not any particular bill regarding this topic.

The recomendations on AD are only provided by Lithuanian Association of Physicians, which adopted (translated and published)the World Medical Association Statementon Advance Directives ("Living Wills") (WMA General Assembly,Helsinki 2003).

The possibility to designate a healthcare proxy regarding a minor and mentally ill patients is recommended by the “Lithuanian law on Patient Rights” (Available online at http://bioetika.sam.lt/index.php?-2078631572 )

There is no official procedure to registry an anvance directive in Lithuania.

The number of ADs, if any, must be very low, due to there is neither legislation nor information about this topic. The issue of ADs has not yet been raised in Lithuania and such debate has not yet started.

Generally speaking, the citizens of Lithuania do not complete ADs. No register of ADs exists, as a result, it is impossible to know whether some people have already completed them, whether before a notary public or by another method.

There is no official form to complete an advance directive in Lithuania.

More information about Advance Directives in Lithuania can be found at the following links:

• There are some recommendations on ADs provided by the Lithuanian Medical Association www.lgs.lt

• Hope.lt. Legal Help and Information: http://www.hope.lt/hot-legal-topics/power-of-attorney/do-you-need-a-living-will-form-or-a-health-care-power-of.php