RETRACTED: Routine parental request of organ donation in end-of-life care of children in the United Kingdom: Unresolved medical, legal, cultural and religious challenges

Abstract

The opt-out system (or presumed consent) for end-of-life organ donation is being widely adopted in the United Kingdom. Since presumed consent for organ donation applies only to adults, commentators have recommended the implementation of routine parental request and integration of organ donation in the end-of-life care of children to increase the donor pool and the supply of transplantable organs. The empirical data for this recommendation originated from a survey of parents of deceased children with severe congenital and acquired brain injuries. The demographics of the surveyed parents were not representative of the diverse ethnic and religious affiliations of British society. Here, it is argued that there are unresolved medical, legal, cultural and religious challenges to the routine integration of end-of-life organ donation that can result in harmful consequences for children and parents. To address these challenges: (1) paediatric practice guidelines should be updated to incorporate new advances in the diagnosis and the treatment of severe brain injuries to eliminate potential clinical errors from premature treatment discontinuation and/or incorrect diagnosis of brain(stem) death and (2) a broad societal debate on the legal, cultural and religious consequences of routine integration of end-of-life organ donation in children.