Pathology and Molecular Medicine and Education Program in Anatomy, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Centre for Early Learning in Medicine, Otago Medical School, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
Anat Sci Educ. 2019 Jul;12(4):417-424. doi: 10.1002/ase.1874. Epub 2019 Mar 28.
Around the world, the recent introduction of assisted death laws has meant that undertaking medical assistance in dying (MAID) is now an option for some persons wishing to end their life. Some of these people donate their bodies to medical science, and by doing so have created a new route from which donor programs can now receive bodies. Such donations have also illuminated a myriad of novel ethical questions. This article considers the emotive and controversial topic of MAID in relation to body donation, describing the experiences of McMaster University, Canada, where several MAID body donors have been received by the anatomical donor program. It provides background on the development and implementation of MAID in Canada, and describes the experience of staff and students at McMaster to MAID donations. It also explores the relevance of MAID to body donation programs, and discusses several of the ethical challenges facing body donation programs who may encounter MAID body donors. These include the appropriateness of accepting MAID donors, issues with informed consent, the effect of personal engagement with MAID donors, information sharing around MAID donations, governance issues, and negative historical parallels between MAID and euthanasia. Suggestions on how to manage MAID body donation focus on how issues affecting institutions, faculty, and students may be approached utilizing appropriate transparency and communication, some of which may facilitate student professional development around the topic of MAID. It is also suggested that the development of ethically appropriate guidelines on MAID body donations may positively guide the anatomical community.
在全球范围内，最近引入的协助死亡法律意味着，一些希望结束生命的人现在可以选择进行医疗协助死亡（MAID）。其中一些人将自己的身体捐献给医学科学，从而为捐赠项目开辟了一条新的途径。这些捐赠也引发了无数新的伦理问题。本文探讨了与遗体捐赠相关的 MAID 这一情绪化和有争议的话题，描述了加拿大麦克马斯特大学的经验，该大学已经接收了几名 MAID 遗体捐赠者。本文介绍了加拿大 MAID 的发展和实施情况，并描述了麦克马斯特大学的工作人员和学生对 MAID 捐赠的体验。它还探讨了 MAID 与遗体捐赠计划的相关性，并讨论了遗体捐赠计划可能遇到的 MAID 遗体捐赠者所面临的几个伦理挑战。这些挑战包括接受 MAID 捐赠者的适当性、知情同意问题、与 MAID 捐赠者个人接触的影响、围绕 MAID 捐赠的信息共享、治理问题，以及 MAID 和安乐死之间的负面历史类比。关于如何管理 MAID 遗体捐赠的建议侧重于如何利用适当的透明度和沟通来处理影响机构、教师和学生的问题，其中一些问题可能有助于学生围绕 MAID 主题发展专业知识。此外，还建议制定关于 MAID 遗体捐赠的符合伦理的指导方针，这可能会积极指导解剖学界。
