Ethics of the donation after cardiac death

Donation after cardiac death (DCD) means organ harvest and donation cannot be carried on until the requirement  of death criteria using cardiopulmonary arrest is reached. Great success has been achieved since DCD was  promoted  widely in China. However, some problems were  encountered  during the implementation of DCD and there also exists many ethical controversies. The ethical principles of  informed consent and no harm mentioned in “Donation after Cardiac  Death Work Instructions of China”should be strictly  adhered to , while justice, fairness and openness must be  ensured  in organ allocation. Appropriate compensation should be given to DCD donor and his family, and the utilization of DCD should be further improved. All of these ethical principles will help to promote the healthy development of organ donation and transplantation in China.