The authority of next-of-kin in explicit and presumed consent systems for deceased organ donation: an analysis of 54 nations

Background. The degree of involvement by the next-of-kin in deceased organ procurement worldwide is unclear. We investigated the next-of-kin’s authority in the procure-ment process in nations with either explicit or presumed consent. Methods. We collected data from 54 nations, 25 with presumed consent and 29 with explicit consent. We char-acterized the authority of the next-of-kin in the decision to donate deceased organs. Specifically, we examined whether the next-of-kin’s consent to procure organs was always required and whether the next-of-kin were able to veto procurement when the deceased had expressed a wish to donate. Results. The next-of-kin are involved in the organ procure-ment process in most nations regardless of the consent principle and whether the wishes of the deceased to be a donor were expressed or unknown. Nineteen of the 25 nations with presumed consent provide a method for individuals to express a wish to be a donor. However, health professionals in only four of these nations responded that they do not override a deceased’s expressed wish because of a family’s objection. Similarly, health profes-sionals in only four of the 29 nations with explicit consent proceed with a deceased’s pre-existing wish to be a donor and do not require next-of-kin’s consent, but caveats still remain for when this is done. Conclusions. The next-of-kin have a considerable influ-ence on the organ procurement process in both presumed and explicit consent nations

Age and equity in liver transplantation: An organ allocation model

A moral liver allocation policy must be fair. We considered a 2-step, 2-principle allocation system called "age mapping." Its first principle, equal opportunity, ensures that candidates of all ages have an equal chance of getting an organ. Its second principle, prudential lifespan equity, allocates younger donor grafts to younger candidates and older donors to older candidates in order to increase the likelihood that all recipients achieve a "full lifespan." Data from 2476 candidates and 1371 consecutive adult liver transplantations (from 1999 to 2012) were used to determine whether age mapping can reduce the gap in years of life lost (YLL) between younger and older recipients. A parametric Weibull prognostic model was developed to estimate total life expectancy after transplantation using survival of the general population matched by sex and age as a reference. Life expectancy from birth was calculated by adding age at transplant and total life expectancy after transplantation. In multivariate analysis, recipient age, hepatitis C virus status, Model for End-Stage Liver Disease score at transplant of >30, and donor age were significantly related to prognosis after surgery (P61 years (n = 272) = 77.4 (1.4). The total number of YLL equaled 523 years. Redistributing liver grafts, using an age mapping algorithm, reduces the lifespan gap between younger and older candidates by 33% (from 12.3% to 8.3%) and achieves a 14% overall reduction of YLL (73 years) compared to baseline liver distribution. In conclusion, deliberately incorporating age into an allocation algorithm promotes fairness and increases efficiency