Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37477350›Full record

ArticleJBI evidence synthesis2024

Organ donation following medical assistance in dying, Part I: a scoping review of legal and ethical aspects.

Vanessa Silva E Silva, Amina Regina Silva, Andrea Rochon, Ken Lotherington, Laura Hornby, Tineke Wind, Jan Bollen, Lindsay C Wilson, Aimee J Sarti, Sonny Dhanani

Abstract readScoping Review
In one paragraph

Article in JBI evidence synthesis, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne · 2023
    Article
  5. Deceased organ and tissue donation after medical assistance in dying: 2023 updated guidance for policy.CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne · 2023
    Article
  6. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Vanessa Silva E SilvaSchool of Nursing, Brock University, St. Catharines, ON, Canada.ORCID 0000-0002-0717-2011
Amina Regina SilvaChildren's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Andrea RochonSchool of Nursing, St. Lawrence College, Kingston, ON, Canada.
Ken LotheringtonCanadian Blood Services, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Laura HornbyCanadian Blood Services, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Tineke WindMaastricht University Medical Centre, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Jan BollenDepartment of Anesthesiology, Pain and Palliative Medicine, Radboudumc Medical Center Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Lindsay C WilsonCanadian Blood Services, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Aimee J SartiDepartment of Critical Care, The Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Sonny DhananiFaculty of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveThe objective of this review was to collate and summarize the current literature on what is known about organ donation following medical assistance in dying (MAiD). Additionally, for this first part of a 2-part scoping review, the focus is on legal and ethical considerations regarding organ donation following MAiD.

introductionOrgan donation following MAiD is a relatively new procedure that has sparked much debate and discussion. A comprehensive investigation into the legal and ethical aspects related to organ donation following MAiD is needed to inform the development of safe and ethical practices. INCLUSION CRITERIA: In this review, we included documents that investigated legal and/or ethical issues related to individuals who underwent organ donation following MAiD in any setting (eg, hospital or home) worldwide. We considered quantitative and qualitative studies, text and opinion papers, gray literature, and unpublished material provided by stakeholders.

methodsThis scoping review followed JBI methodology. Published studies were retrieved from databases, including MEDLINE (Ovid), Embase (Ovid), CINAHL (EBSCOhost), PsycINFO (Ovid), Web of Science Core Collection, and Academic Search Complete (EBSCOhost). Gray and unpublished literature included reports from organ donation organizations in Canada, The Netherlands, and Belgium. Two independent reviewers screened all reports (both by title and abstract and by full text) against the inclusion criteria, extracted data, and completed a content analysis. Disagreements between the 2 reviewers were resolved through discussions among the reviewers and the lead reviewer.

resultsWe included 121 documents for parts I and II of our scoping review, 89 of which are included in part I. The majority of the 89 documents were discussion papers published in English and in Canada from 2019 to 2021. In the content analysis, we identified 4 major categories regarding ethical and legal aspects of organ donation following MAiD: i) legal definitions, legislation, and guidelines; ii) ethics, dilemmas, and consensus; iii) consent and objection; and iv) public perceptions. We identified the main legislation regulating the practices of organ donation following MAiD in countries where both procedures are permitted, the many ethical debates surrounding this topic (eg, eligibility criteria for organ donation and MAiD, disclosure of donors' and recipients' information, directed organ donation, death determination in organ donation following MAiD, ethical safeguards for organ donation following MAiD), as well as the public perceptions of this process.

conclusionsOrgan donation following MAiD has raised many legal and ethical concerns regarding establishing safeguards to protect patients and families. Despite the ongoing debates around the risks and benefits of this combined procedure, when patients who request MAiD want to donate their organs, this option can help fulfill their last wishes and diminish their suffering, which should be the main reasons to offer organ donation following MAiD.

Indexed as

Suicide, AssistedTissue and Organ ProcurementCanadaHumansMedical AssistanceTissue Donors

Identifiers

PMID37477350
PMCPMC10871663

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.