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The article provides information on a study which identified patient and treatment characteristics that may accurately predict which potential donation after cardiac death (DCD) donors die within 60 or 12 minutes, in whom a donation procedure should be started. The prospective multicenter study identified all potential donation after cardiac death donors on the Netherlands from May 2007 to June 2009. It also identified risk factors for early death.

The article discusses the ethical ramifications of the concepts of brain death and the controversies associated with controlled donation following cardiac death organ transplantation. Several medical and legal definitions of death are presented, including loss of integration of the whole organism, loss of autonomy and loss of personhood. In the past, the use of several organs for transplantation has been difficult due to the damages incurred by the organs during the ischemic time between the time of cardiac arrest and organ reperfusion in the recipient.

The article presents a study on autoresuscitation (AR) after cardiac arrest. It mentions that electronic databases on autoresuscitation from 16 different countries were used to extract the characteristics of the patients who participated in the study. It says that each study case was assessed through the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation system. Results suggest that autoresuscitation might be influenced by the provision of cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

The article presents a study which investigates the Dutch experience of kidney transplantation through a pediatric donation after cardiac death (DCD). It notes that all patients who experienced pediatric DCD kidney transplantations in the transplant center in the Netherlands from January 1995 to July 2006 were examined. The results suggest that kidneys from pediatric DCD are safe for transplantation and could significantly contribute to good transplant outcomes

The article highlights a study funded by the United States Department of Health and Human Services designed to identify potential barriers to, and opportunities for, increasing the number of hospitals with donation after cardiac death (DCD) protocols. According to the authors, one of the biggest barriers is lack of knowledge of DCD which leads to misperceptions and contributes to negative attitudes among healthcare professionals.

The article discusses research being done on the ethical aspect of pediatric intensive care medical practice. It references the study "Views of Pediatric Intensive Care Physicians on the Ethics of Organ Donation After Cardiac Death," by A. A. Sarnaik et al. published in the 2013 issue of "Critical Care Medicine." The researchers evaluated the attitudes of pediatric intensive care physicians toward donation after circulatory determination of death (DCDD) or donation after death.

The authors reflect on the study by S. Bastami and colleagues which provides a summary of published English languages articles regarding the public and heath care providers perceptions on donation after circulatory determination of death (DCDD). They say that most U.S. providers not commonly involved with donation or transplantation with types of DCDD. They mention that the authors found that health care providers both have knowledge gaps on different types of controlled and uncontrolled DCDD.

The article discusses research on autoresuscitation during the process of organ recovery from donors after cardiac death. It references the study of Sheth and colleagues in the same issue regarding the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center's observations on the required waiting period before organ procurement begins. It says that any incident of autoresuscitation was not observed two minutes after the cessation of a patient's cardiopulmonary function.

A letter to the editor is presented in response to the article "The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia's experience with donation after cardiac death," by M.Y. Naim and colleagues in the June 2008 issue.