New death-diagnosis rules urged for transplants

Leading medical experts want new standards on diagnosing death in order to boost successful organ donations after a call from the Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Society.

Macquarie University's professor of clinical ethics, Wendy Rogers, is among those arguing for clearer guidelines to increase organ donations and give loved ones peace of mind.

Professor Rogers is backing guidelines from the Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Society which state cardiac death occurs when someone stops moving, stops breathing and lacks a pulse for two minutes or more.

At present, there is no universal standard to clarify precisely when someone has died from heart failure.

"The most common form of organ donation in Australia occurs after brain death," Professor Rogers said.

"This does not require a rapid diagnosis because the brain-dead person is artificially supported until the time of the donation operation.

"In contrast, timing is crucial for donations after cardiac death, diagnosed when circulation and breathing stop.

"Organs must be removed rapidly from the dead person because they become damaged without circulation." Writing in the July edition of Australasian Science Magazine, Professor Rogers said there would be no danger of mistakenly declaring patients dead under the proposed guidelines.

"Waiting for two minutes after circulation ceases before declaring death rules out the rare possibility of the heart restarting on its own," she said.

"Both practitioners and the public can be confident that donors after cardiac death are truly dead. This would lead to better understanding for families involved in donation decisions at the wrenching time of a loved one's death."

- AAP