TransplantNow The Ultimate Guide to Clinical Transplant Research

In order to combat low rates of deceased donor donation, Israel has adopted an innovative program that gives potential recipients extra points if they or a relative have agreed to donate an organ. The authors argue the ethical merits and disadvantages of such a system, highlights issues of potential inequalities related to: (a) the number […]

Racial disparities in intention to donate are well known. This randomized study showed a short iPod video to Ohio residents going to the DMV, and measured whether it increased organ donor designation on a license, permit, or identification card. The researchers found an increase in designations for both black and white participants. While there is […]

This paper reviews the empirical research that has been done regarding informed consent for living organ donation. The author reviews research surrounding: disclosure of donor risks and sensitive information, voluntariness, the decision-making process and donor satisfaction post-transplant. This well referenced paper is a concise summary of research in this field.

This article, and the 6 open peer commentaries that accompany it, discusses whether ante mortem donation of kidneys is ethically feasible in those patients in whom a decision has been made to discontinue life sustaining therapy. The authors argue that this strategy is ethically equivalent to donation after cardiac death, since the ante mortem removal […]

This article advocates the use of “nudges” to increase the supply of donated organs.  A nudge is “any aspect of the choice architecture that alters people’s behavior in a predictable way without forbidding any options or significantly changing their economic incentives” eg. changing the sign on a waste receptacle from “waste” to “landfill” to encourage […]

The authors promote a concept that is initially shocking- that organ donation euthanasia would be a rational improvement over current practice regarding withdrawal of life support. They argue that there are several untested methods of increasing organ donation, including euthanasia, and that patients should be given the choice of whether and how they would like […]

Gardiner and Sparrow argued in a 2010 article that the pre-mortem procedures as typically used in donation after cardiac death (DCD) protocols violate a proper understanding of the dead donor rule (DDR). Napier argues that whether or not particular pre-mortem interventions violate this condition of respect for the donor will depend on whether they are […]

The authors attempt to challenge the belief that presumed consent results in higher rates of deceased donation. They interviewed 15 participants from 13 countries with presumed consent legislation and found that: (1) donation was always discussed with family; (2) content of family discussion varied; (3) donation would not proceed if family objected; and (4) other […]

This short piece encourages Americans to support passage of The Comprehensive Immunosuppressive Drug Coverage for Kidney Transplant Patients Act of 2011 (H.R. 2969), currently before Congress, which could extend the coverage for immune suppressants from the current 3 years provided by Medicare to lifelong coverage. The piece clearly articulates what many of us have seen […]

The authors discuss a case example of fulminant hepatic failure (FHF) in a patient who had attempted suicide by acetaminophen ingestion.  Opinions about eligibility for liver transplant (LT) vary, and the authors suggest patients with FHF due to suicide attempts should not be denied LT in the absence of any other obvious medical or overriding […]