Organ harvesting from anencephalic infants: health management over a sinkhole.
As technology increases in the field of organ transplantation for newborns, a problematic limitation persists: too few organ donors are available to match the number of needy organ donees. Anencephalic newborns have been suggested (and recently used) as organ sources. Anencephalic infants are born without the upper part of their brain and usually die within a week after birth. This article will address the ethical considerations of using these infants as organ sources, particularly from the view of a physician and an attorney. This piece will further analyze the medico-legal ramifications of the various legislative proposals addressing this subject.
D000757:Anencephaly; D001926:Brain Death; D002140:California; D004992:Ethics, Medical; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D014019:Tissue Donors; D009927:Tissue and Organ Procurement / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D014180:Transplantation / Q000592:standards*; D014481:United States; D012122:Ventilators, Mechanical