Organ donation – The daily blog of behavioral and cognitive economics

Misinformation About the End of Life Is Harming Organ Donation

In August, The New York Times reported that President Donald Trump’s administration was “cracking down” on the organ transplant system, which the newspaper attributed, in part, to its own investigative report from July suggesting that U.S. patients had nearly been killed for their organs. The Times reported that a woman was still alive when surgeons began working to remove her organs. In another case, a surgical technician said she was deeply disturbed and quit her job because she saw a patient “crying and looking around” before a doctor sedated the patient and removed life support. The article also alleged that “signs of life” were ignored in patients being considered for organ donation. ….[READ]