Mapping and Handling Conflicts of Interest in Deceased Organ Donation: How to Handle Ethical Issues and Build Trust in the Healthcare Team

Journal article : Review

It has been suggested that there is a significant conflict of interest between providing best care for the dying patient and a subsidiary role in facilitating the donation process. Should healthcare professionals who are involved in a patient’s care and determination of death also be involved in discussing donation with families? If they are involved, should they disclose this potential conflict of interest? In this paper we address the issue of conflicts of interest in organ donation by examining current best practice in four European countries (Sweden, Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Spain) and discuss whether having clear separation of roles in order to avoid conflicts is preferable to having the same physician (or team) handle both the dying process and donation. We also analyse the benefits and burdens of disclosing such potential conflicts.

Authors: Shaw, D; Jansen, NE; Pérez-Blanco, A; Floden, A; Ploeg, RJ

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Frontiers Media
• Journal: Transplant International
• Volume: 38
• Article number: 14235
• Publication date: 2025-10-06
• Acceptance date: 2025-09-12
• DOI: 10.3389/ti.2025.14235
• EISSN: 1432-2277
• ISSN: 0934-0874
• Language: English
• Keywords: policy; conflicts; organ donation; law; ethics
• Subtype: Review