-
Tytuł:
-
For Victims of Fatal Child Abuse, Who Has the Right to Consent to Organ Donation?
-
Autorzy:
-
Deutsch SA; Divisions of General Pediatrics and .
Teeple E; Division of Pediatric Surgery, Department of Surgery.
Dickerman M; Pediatric Critical Care Medicine, Department of Pediatrics.
Macaulay J; Department of Patient and Family Services, Nemours/Alfred I. DuPont Hospital for Children, Wilmington, Delaware.
Collins G; Medical Examiner Unit, Division of Forensic Science, and.
-
Źródło:
-
Pediatrics [Pediatrics] 2020 Sep; Vol. 146 (3).
-
Typ publikacji:
-
Case Reports; Letter
-
Język:
-
English
-
Imprint Name(s):
-
Publication: Elk Grove Village Il : American Academy of Pediatrics
Original Publication: Springfield, Ill., Thomas.
-
MeSH Terms:
-
Child Abuse/*ethics
Forensic Medicine/*ethics
Homicide/*ethics
Parental Consent/*ethics
Tissue Donors/*ethics
Tissue and Organ Procurement/*ethics
Autopsy/ethics ; Bioethical Issues ; Child Abuse/legislation & jurisprudence ; Child, Preschool ; Family ; Forensic Medicine/legislation & jurisprudence ; Homicide/legislation & jurisprudence ; Humans ; Male ; Parental Consent/legislation & jurisprudence ; Parents ; Shaken Baby Syndrome/etiology ; Tissue Donors/legislation & jurisprudence ; Tissue and Organ Procurement/legislation & jurisprudence
-
Entry Date(s):
-
Date Created: 20200821 Date Completed: 20201007 Latest Revision: 20201007
-
Update Code:
-
20240105
-
DOI:
-
10.1542/peds.2020-0662
-
PMID:
-
32817267
-
In rare circumstances, children who have suffered traumatic brain injury from child abuse are declared dead by neurologic criteria and are eligible to donate organs. When the parents are the suspected abusers, there can be confusion about who has the legal right to authorize organ donation. Furthermore, organ donation may interfere with the collection of forensic evidence that is necessary to evaluate the abuse. Under those circumstances, particularly in the context of a child homicide investigation, the goals of organ donation and collection and preservation of critical forensic evidence may seem mutually exclusive. In this Ethics Rounds, we discuss such a case and suggest ways to resolve the apparent conflicts between the desire to procure organs for donation and the need to thoroughly evaluate the evidence of abuse.
Competing Interests: POTENTIAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST: The authors have indicated they have no potential conflicts of interest to disclose.
(Copyright © 2020 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.)
