Is the Canadian health care system ready for donation after cardiac death?
Christopher James Doig Christopher James Doig is with the Departments of Critical Care Medicine and Community Health Sciences, Office of Medical Bioethics, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alta. Correspondence to: Dr. Christopher James Doig, Critical Care Medicine, Community Health Sciences, Office of Medical Bioethics, University of Calgary, EG23G-1403 29th Street NW, Calgary AB T2N 2T9; fax 403 283-9994; cdoig{at}ucalgary.ca’ + u + ‘@’ + d + ”//–> “It seems inevitable that the fact that someone else is waiting for this patient’s kidney must to some extent influence the decision, since the longer the injured patient is connected to the machines the more his kidneys and other vital organs are likely to deteriorate.” M.F. Woodruff1 Since the seminal report defining criteria for brain death,2 organ donations in Canada have been only from individuals who have died after meeting criteria for brain death (donation after brain death or DBD).3 However, on June 27, 2006, The Ottawa Hospital a
