Resuscitating the Dead Donor Rule

“Can the Dead Donor Rule be Resuscitated?” That’s the title of an editorial in the August 2011 issue of The American Journal of Bioethics Editorial, co-authored by David Magnus, PhD, Stanford University Center for Biomedical Ethics. Dr. Magnus provides input as to how donation after cardiac death may be a great good if done correctly. He recommends using the IOM standard of five minutes after declaration of death for procurement of organs, using a system of checks and a mandatory ethics consort, as well as sufficient consultation with the dying patient’s family.