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To the Editor: The articles by Dr Wendler and Mr Dickert¹ and by Mr Capron² about organ procurement and transplantation addressed whether the decision to procure organs should be left to the previously expressed wishes of the deceased or to the next of kin. This issue seems rather straightforward given that laws in almost every state have made donor cards and organ donor statements on driver's licenses legally binding documents.³ Nonetheless, the study by Wendler and Dickert shows that although these documents are legally binding, physicians and organ procurement organizations (OPOs) often ask for family consent despite a signed organ donor card or driver's license.

Does the public want family involvement? We conducted a pilot study at a laundromat in Chicago, Ill, and at 4 laundromats and a shopping mall in suburban southern California between December 1999 and January 2000. Of the 96 participants, the majority were women (59%), single . . . [Full Text of this Article]

RELATED ARTICLE

The Consent Process for Cadaveric Organ Procurement: How Does It Work? How Can It Be Improved?
Dave Wendler and Neal Dickert
JAMA. 2001;285(3):329-333.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT