Ethical tensions and professional attitudes toward circulatory death organ donation in the ICU: a systematic review
Authors' conclusion
While ICU HCPs generally support DCD, significant ethical tensions and systemic barriers persist.
Study context
- Population
- ICU healthcare professionals (HCPs); attitudes toward controlled donation after circulatory death (cDCD)
- Participants
- 3,878 professionals · 25 studies
- Outcome
- ICU HCPs' attitudes (as defined by Rosenberg and Hovland) toward cDCD
Methodological detailsstructured narrative synthesis, Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool quality assessment, Studies published until March 2025 in four databases
- Structured narrative synthesis
- Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool quality assessment
- Studies published until March 2025 in four databases
Pooled result
As reported in the abstract
Attitudes toward DCD
- Overall support for DCD evident, though lower than for donation after brain death
- Ethical concerns: potential conflicts of interest between withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment and pursuit of organ donation, timing of withdrawal, urgency of organ retrieval, balancing compassionate end-of-life care with procedural imperatives
- Common barriers: lack of standardized protocols, insufficient training, uncertainty surrounding death determination
Original publication
Ethical tensions and professional attitudes toward circulatory death organ donation in the ICU: a systematic review. Intensive Care Med. Published 17 September 2025. doi:10.
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →