‘Moral reflections on heart transplant surgical procedure’ [Excerpt]

Abstract

In order to dispel doubts and misgivings about the fact of a donor’s death, once death has been satisfactorily defined, it has been suggested that the fact of the donor’s death should be established by a medical board completely independent from the surgical team entrusted with the performance of the transplant. It should be made clear that the consent of both recipient and donor, or the person responsible for the latter, has been freely secured before the operation can be undertaken.