Social and ethical-moral considerations in cardiopulmonary death donation

Abstract

The sociocultural perception of Cardiopulmonary Death Donation by the population is an important issue, especially at this time when this type of donation is growing. However, the data that are currently available are insufficient to draw definitive conclusions on public reactions. Controlled organ donation after cardiocirculatory determination of death has generated an ethical and social debate since its implementation. The objective is to analyze the most relevant ethical-moral and social issues that involve this type of donation.

We were selected the 30 articles about this area with the PRISMA methodology. 72.2% of the articles that analyze the ethical conflicts on the withdrawal of life support treatment state that the staff that carries it out must be separate from the donation staff. 38.9% believe that it should be done in the ICM and 44.4% that it should be done by the ICM staff themselves. Regarding who should suggest controlled organ donation after cardiocirculatory determination of death, they all agree that it should be totally unrelated to ICM staff. 71.4% of the articles that analyze the use of premortem procedures justify their use based on scientific evidence and declare that they do not harm the potential donor. 42.1% accept the use of permanent circulatory cessation in determining death and 78.9% believe that a consensus should be reached on the waiting time in asystole. Despite some detractors, the use of ECMO is fully justified. Christian and Jewish culture are in favor of non-heart beating donation, but religious and economic objections continue to be raised in the Middle East. 80% of the articles that mention euthanasia classify it as a subject completely unrelated to controlled organ donation after cardiocirculatory determination of death

In conclusion, Organ donation after cardiocirculatory determination of death has experienced a boom in recent years and continues to lead to ethical-moral and social debate.