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. 2024 Feb 13;25(3):333-338.
doi: 10.1177/17511437241231705. eCollection 2024 Aug.

When is directed deceased donation justified? Practical, ethical, and legal issues

David Shaw  1   2 , Dale Gardiner  3 , Rutger Ploeg  4 , Anne Floden  5   6 , Jessie Cooper  7 , Alicia Pérez-Blanco  8 , Tineke Wind  9 , Lydia Dijkhuizen  10 , Nichon Jansen  10 , Bernadette Haase-Kromwijk  10
Affiliations

When is directed deceased donation justified? Practical, ethical, and legal issues

David Shaw et al. J Intensive Care Soc. .

Abstract

This paper explores whether directed deceased organ donation should be permitted, and if so under which conditions. While organ donation and allocation systems must be fair and transparent, might it be "one thought too many" to prevent directed donation within families? We proceed by providing a description of the medical and legal context, followed by identification of the main ethical issues involved in directed donation, and then explore these through a series of hypothetical cases similar to those encountered in practice. Ultimately, we set certain conditions under which directed deceased donation may be ethically acceptable. We restrict our discussion to the allocation of organs to recipients already on the waiting list.

Keywords: Organ donation; directed deceased donation; ethics; family; law.

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Conflict of interest statement

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

References

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