Organ donation and palliative care: can palliative care make a difference?

Donation after cardiac death (DCD) is technique of organ donation that has increased the number of available organs for transplant. This process allows organ donation after declaring death using cardiopulmonary criteria. Concerns exist with quality of symptom control and family support during this process. The case presented illustrates a specific example of how palliative care integrates with organ donation at Mayo Clinic Hospital in Phoenix, Arizona. This hospital has a DCD protocol established. The article reviews basic concepts of DCD. It reviews how a palliative care team interacts with other hospital teams to provide expert symptom control and emotional support for families during the DCD process.