Abstract
Objectives: To inform physicians of the critical shortage of neonatal heart donors and to provide arguments for and against selecting brain-absent anencephalics as heart donors for brain-normal infants who are dying of hypoplastic left heart syndrome. Data Sources: International scientific journals of medicine, genetics, epidemiology, bioethics, and public health; adjudicated U.S. civil court cases; and state regulations and statutes. Study Selection: Worldwide experience with anencephalics as homologous organ donors. Data Extraction: Demographic and epidemiologic data on anencephalic births and natural histories; U.S. civil, district, and appellate court case decisions directing or prohibiting organ donation; state determination-of- death acts; state uniform-anatomical-gift acts. Data Synthesis: Organization of all data into either moral challenges or legal challenges to anencephalic organ donation. Conclusions: Statutory laws pose a greater challenge to anencephalic organ donation than moral laws. Case law reviews eliminate substituted judgment rulings in directing anencephalic organ donation. A redefinition of brain death applying only to human beings born without a brain would make more donor hearts available to brain-normal infants dying of hypoplastic left heart syndrome.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1781-1790 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | Critical Care Medicine |
Volume | 21 |
Issue number | 11 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Nov 1993 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- abortion, legal
- anencephaly
- brain death
- congenital heart disease
- critical illness
- ethics, medical
- euthanasia
- organ donation
- organ transplantation
- pediatrics