Organ Donation After Neurologically Unsurvivable Injury: A Case Study with Ethical Implications for Physicians (Clinical Report‪)‬

Today almost 80,000 patients are waiting for a vascularized organ for transplant in the USA, and 6500 patients each year die while waiting because an organ did not become available (1). With almost 18 patients a day experiencing preventable death, we are facing a national crisis in transplantation. Physicians are recognized as the central figures in the delivery of health care, not only by other health care providers but also, most importantly, by their patients and their patients' families. As such, physicians play the first and frequently the most crucial role in whether a patient who has sustained a lethal neurological injury becomes an organ donor.