University Center for Psychiatry, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.
Department of Anesthesiology, Pain and Palliative Medicine, Radboudumc, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
BMJ Case Rep. 2022 Jul 4;15(7):e246754. doi: 10.1136/bcr-2021-246754.
Organ donation after euthanasia (ODE) is rarely performed but the number has gradually increased over the years. It has been suggested that the preparatory investigations for organ donation parallel to the medical-legal procedures for euthanasia may be too much of a burden for the patients and their relatives. Furthermore, dying in an intensive care unit might contribute to this burden. Based on two patients who were granted euthanasia based on a psychiatric disorder, we show that the actual burden may be minimal for some patients and their relatives and may even be helpful in their process of euthanasia. Therefore, we propose that providing patients with information about donation of organs after euthanasia may be important to incorporate early in the medical-legal process of euthanasia instead of waiting for the patient to bring up organ donation, as currently advised in the Dutch guideline for ODE.
安乐死之后的器官捐献（ODE）很少进行，但近年来数量逐渐增加。有人认为，器官捐献的预备调查与安乐死的法律程序平行进行，可能给患者及其家属带来过重的负担。此外，在重症监护病房死亡可能会加重这种负担。基于两名因精神障碍而被准予安乐死的患者，我们表明，对于某些患者及其家属来说，实际负担可能很小，甚至可能有助于他们实施安乐死。因此，我们建议在安乐死的医疗法律程序早期向患者提供有关安乐死后器官捐献的信息可能很重要，而不是像目前荷兰 ODE 指南所建议的那样，等待患者提出器官捐献。
