Pope TM, Ruck Keene A, Chandler J. No consent for brain death testing.
JOURNAL OF MEDICAL ETHICS 2024;
50:494-495. [PMID:
38154918 DOI:
10.1136/jme-2023-109797]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2023] [Accepted: 12/16/2023] [Indexed: 12/30/2023]
Abstract
The overwhelming weight of legal authority in the USA and Canada holds that consent is not required for brain death testing. The situation in England and Wales is similar but different. While clinicians in England and Wales may have a prima facie duty to obtain consent, lack of consent has not barred testing. In three recent cases where consent for brain death testing was formally presented to the court, lack of consent was not determinative, and in one case the court questioned whether the clinicians were even required to seek consent from the parents of a child at all.
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