Should Decision Making Be Shared in High-Risk Pediatric Heart Donation?

Efrat Lelkes; Angira Patel; Anna Joong; Jeffrey G Gossett

doi:10.1001/amajethics.2020.401

Should Decision Making Be Shared in High-Risk Pediatric Heart Donation?

AMA J Ethics. 2020 May 1;22(5):E401-407. doi: 10.1001/amajethics.2020.401.

Authors

Efrat Lelkes¹, Angira Patel², Anna Joong³, Jeffrey G Gossett⁴

Affiliations

¹ Pediatric intensive care unit physician and palliative care specialist at the UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital San Francisco in California.
² Pediatric and fetal cardiologist at the Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago in Illinois.
³ Pediatric heart failure and transplant physician at the Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago in Illinois.
⁴ Medical director of pediatric heart failure, mechanical circulatory support, and heart transplantation services at the UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital San Francisco in California.

PMID: 32449656
DOI: 10.1001/amajethics.2020.401

Abstract

This article considers complexities of shared decision making in pediatric heart transplantation and suggests that decisions about pediatric heart transplantation should be shared between a clinical team and parents. This article also considers goals of shared decision making involving Public Health Service increased-risk donors and recommends policy changes to strengthen decision sharing.

MeSH terms

Child
Decision Making*
Decision Making, Shared
Humans
Parents*
Tissue Donors