Ethics of Approaching Parents for Pediatric Donation After Circulatory Death

AbstractPurpose of ReviewDCD is expanding, and with this expansion, there are emerging ethical issues involved in approaching the parents of a child for DCD. This paper will address those issues.Recent FindingsThe ethical issue that has received the most focus recently regarding pediatric DCD is the duration of the waiting period, after death declaration but prior to organ recovery, to ensure lack of autoresuscitation. A growing body of literature exists investigating autoresuscitation, thus providing a little more insight into the process of death determination.SummaryPediatric DCD involves both the organ donor and the donor family. Informed consent for organ donation is obtained using the best interest model in pediatrics. Full disclosure of the process of DCD is essential to equip parents to make the best decision for their child. Additionally, the clinician must be prepared to explain the process to the families and honestly answer questions they might have about the process of their child ’s death and organ recovery.
Source: Current Pediatrics Reports - Category: Pediatrics Source Type: research