How the UK Overcame the Ethical, Legal and Professional Challenges in Donation After Circulatory Death

Long transplant lists and a shortage of organ donors has led to an international resurgence in the donation of organs after circulatory death (‘DCD’). Despite being almost entirely absent for nearly 25 years, DCD now accounts for 40 per cent of deceased organ donation in the UK. This rise is in part due to attempts to resolve the ethical, legal and professional challenges inherent to this type of donation. Since 2008 in the UK, seven major ethical, legal and professional guidances have been published relating to deceased donation and DCD in particular. It is now this author’s opinion that the professional framework that underpins the DCD programme in the UK is the strongest in the world. This paper outlines the seven UK publications that justify this bold claim.