Scaring us all to death: the need for responsible legal scholarship on post-mortem organ donation.

Abstract

This article considers the legal, medical and policy issues arising from post-mortem organ donation. It explains the basis of relevant law, and examines the diagnosis of death and the ethics of medical aspects of post-mortem donation. While the law in this area may well be imperfect, it provides an appropriate and ethical framework within which health care professionals can function. The current medico-legal framework protects and preserves the public interest, such that the broader society can be confident that the dead donor rule is observed irrespective of the way that death is diagnosed. This article also acknowledges the human fear of death and calls for responsible scholarship in this area.