In reply: The Alfred Hospital’s donation after cardiac death (DCD) program was developed in full knowledge of ethical concerns such as those raised by Kennedy and Kennedy. All are covered under “DCD guideline development and implementation” in the methods section of our article.1 Specifically, no patient was denied a chance of survival, because all would have undergone withdrawal of cardiorespiratory support even if donation were not considered.
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- 1. Coulson TG, Pilcher DV, Graham SM, et al. Single-centre experience of donation after cardiac death. Med J Aust 2012; 197: 166-169. <MJA full text>
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David Pilcher is a Medical Advisor to DonateLife in Victoria.