The psychology, legality, ethics and medical aspects of organ donation by minors.
No Thumbnail Available
Authors
Ashwin, A
Cherukuri, S D
Rammohan, A
Issue Date
2024-01-19
Type
Journal Article
Review
Review
Language
en
Keywords
Criteria , Donation by minors , Ethics , Living donation
Alternative Title
Abstract
Any individual who has not attained the chronological age of legal majority as per national law is termed a minor. The concept of living donation (LD) has always been a subject of ethical debate and further compounding the controversy is the question of LD by minors. The decision for a minor to donate poses a special challenge as it involves a close family unit of parent-child relationship. Such an emotionally loaded situation wherein questions of attachment, perceived duties, moral obligation are likely to cloud a truly informed consent on the part of the minor to donation, who may find themselves in a vulnerable position. Furthermore, a minor's cognitive ability to comprehend the gravity of LD and when required defy parental coercion need to be elucidates before a minor is accepted for LD. Experts have set out stringent conditions which need to be met prior to the exceptional circumstance that a minor is considered for organ donation. Such donations should require parental permission, child's assent and the involvement of a paediatric-trained donor advocacy team. This article debates the question of minors acting as live donors from ethical, medical, psychosocial and legal viewpoints with an aim to present internationally defined circumstances when a minor may morally participate as a LD, thereby laying the foundation for future deliberations in this regard using traditional metrics to juxtapose divergent courses of action.
Description
Citation
Ashwin, A.; Cherukuri, SD. and Rammohan, A. (2024) 'The psychology, legality, ethics and medical aspects of organ donation by minors', Transplantation Reviews, 38(2) Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trre.2024.100832
Publisher
Elsevier
License
Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Journal
Transplantation reviews (Orlando, Fla.)
Volume
38
Issue
2
PubMed ID
ISSN
1557-9816