Ethical Issues in Organ Transplantation at End of Life: Defining Death

Wendy Suhre; Gail A Van Norman

doi:10.1016/j.anclin.2019.10.009

Ethical Issues in Organ Transplantation at End of Life: Defining Death

Anesthesiol Clin. 2020 Mar;38(1):231-246. doi: 10.1016/j.anclin.2019.10.009.

Authors

Wendy Suhre¹, Gail A Van Norman²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine, Box 356540, 1959 Northeast Pacific Street, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
² Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA; Bioethics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].

PMID: 32008655
DOI: 10.1016/j.anclin.2019.10.009

Abstract

End-of-life vital organ transplantation involves singular ethical issues, because survival of the donor is impossible, and organ retrieval is ideally as close to the death of the donor as possible to minimize organ ischemic time. Historical efforts to define death have been met with confusion and discord. Fifty years on, the Harvard criteria for brain death continue to be problematic and now face significant legislative efforts to limit their authority.

Keywords: Brain death; Donation after cardiac death; Ethics; Religion; Vital organ transplantation.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Brain Death / legislation & jurisprudence*
Death
Humans
Organ Transplantation / ethics*
Tissue Donors
Tissue and Organ Harvesting / ethics*