Document Detail


National Association of Medical Examiners position paper on the medical examiner release of organs and tissues for transplantation.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  17721166     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
The medical examiner community plays a key role in the organ and tissue procurement process for transplantation. Since many, if not most, potential organ or tissue donors fall under medicolegal jurisdiction, the medical examiner bears responsibility to authorize or deny the procurement of organs or tissues on a case-by-case basis. This responsibility engenders a basic dichotomy for the medical examiner's decision-making process. In cases falling under his/her jurisdiction, the medical examiner must balance the medicolegal responsibility centered on the decedent with the societal responsibility to respect the wishes of the decedent and/or next of kin to help living patients. Much has been written on this complex issue in both the forensic pathology and the transplantation literature. Several studies and surveys of medical examiner practices, as well as suggested protocols for handling certain types of cases, are available for reference when concerns arise that procurement may potentially hinder medicolegal death investigation. It is the position of the National Association of Medical Examiners (NAME) that the procurement of organs and/or tissues for transplantation can be accomplished in virtually all cases, without detriment to evidence collection, postmortem examination, determination of cause and manner of death, or the conducting of criminal or civil legal proceedings. The purpose of this position paper is to review the available data, the arguments for and against medical examiner release, and to encourage the release of organs and tissues in all but the rarest of circumstances.
Authors:
J Keith Pinckard; Charles V Wetli; Michael A Graham;
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Publication Detail:
Type:  Guideline; Journal Article; Review    
Journal Detail:
Title:  The American journal of forensic medicine and pathology     Volume:  28     ISSN:  0195-7910     ISO Abbreviation:  Am J Forensic Med Pathol     Publication Date:  2007 Sep 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2007-08-27     Completed Date:  2007-12-07     Revised Date:  2011-02-02    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  8108948     Medline TA:  Am J Forensic Med Pathol     Country:  United States    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  202-7     Citation Subset:  IM    
Affiliation:
Department of Pathology, Division of Forensic Pathology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and the Southwestern Institute of Forensic Sciences, Dallas, Texas 75235, USA. keith.pinckard@utsouthwestern.edu
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Coroners and Medical Examiners*
Criminal Law
Humans
Physician's Role
Tissue Donors / legislation & jurisprudence
Tissue and Organ Procurement / legislation & jurisprudence,  standards*,  statistics & numerical data
United States

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


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