LifeSite
It is long past time for complete transparency about organ procurement practices, and for mandating fully informed consent when people register to become organ donors.
“Our findings show that hospitals allowed the organ procurement process to begin when patients showed signs of life, and this is horrifying,” Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. said in a recent press release . “The organ procurement organizations that coordinate access to transplants will be held accountable. The entire system must be fixed to ensure that every potential donor’s life is treated with the sanctity it deserves.”
This statement came on the heels of a New York Times
Here’s how it works: before proceeding to organ donation, DCD donors are given a “do not resuscitate” (DNR) order. This is necessary because these patients could be resuscitated, but a decision has been made not to do so. Their treatment switches from patient-focused care to organ-focused care, often including placement of large-bore intravenous lines and infusions of medications for the benefit of the organs, not the patient.
On their final day, DCD donors are taken to surgery and removed from life support. Once they become pulseless, doctors observe a two to five minute “no touch” period to observe for any spontaneous return of circulation. Organ removal begins as quickly as possible thereafter, because warm organs rapidly become unsuitable for transplantation in the absence of circulation.
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