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Do donation after cardiac death protocols violate criminal homicide statutes?
Joan McGregor1, Joseph L Verheijde, Mohamed Y Rady
1Department of Philosophy, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA.
Insights
Donation after Cardiac Death (DCD) protocols may violate homicide laws. Organ procurement occurs before the donor is legally dead, raising legal and ethical concerns in transplantation medicine.
Area of Science:
- Medical Ethics
- Transplantation Law
- Criminal Law
Background:
- A significant organ shortage necessitates increased donation rates.
- The Institute of Medicine and HHS recommended Donation after Cardiac Death (DCD) programs to boost organ availability.
- DCD involves withdrawing life support, leading to cardiac arrest and subsequent organ procurement.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine whether DCD protocols comply with state criminal homicide statutes.
- To analyze the legal and ethical implications of organ procurement timing in DCD.
Main Methods:
- Review of state criminal homicide statutes.
- Analysis of the Uniform Determination of Death Act (UDDA).
- Examination of established DCD protocols and their alignment with legal definitions of death.
Main Results:
- DCD protocols involve organ procurement within minutes of cardiac arrest, before traditional markers of death are met.
- Investigation suggests a potential conflict between DCD procedures and existing homicide legislation.
Conclusions:
- Donation after Cardiac Death (DCD) protocols likely violate criminal homicide statutes.
- Urgent legal and ethical review is needed for DCD practices in organ transplantation.
Abstract:
It is widely known that there is a tremendous shortage of organs for transplantation. In an attempt to increase the number of organ donations, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) in its 1997 and 2000 reports and United States Department of Health and Human Services, recommended the promotion of programs for Donation after Cardiac Death (DCD). DCD involves the withdrawal of life support from the patient/donor. After cardiac arrest the patient is declared dead and in 2 to 5 minutes the surgeons begin to remove the organs for transplantation. In this paper, we explore the question whether the protocols for DCD violate states' criminal homicide statutes since the patient is not dead at the time of procurement. After investigating of the homicide rules, the Uniform Determination of Death Act, and the protocols for DCD, we conclude by arguing that the DCD likely violates criminal homicide rules.
