People who choose voluntary assisted dying can safely donate their kidneys

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2024-09-26 01:00

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Donor kidneys taken from people who have died by euthanasia are as safe to use as those from people who have died by other means, according to international researchers. Researchers in the Netherlands, where organ donation after euthanasia has been increasing over the past decade, investigated the outcomes of 145 kidney transplants after euthanasia compared to 1,936 transplants from donors who died after life-sustaining therapies were withdrawn, and 1,255 from donors who had a brain death. The researchers say donor kidneys following euthanasia were less likely to have a delayed graft function than those from someone who'd had life-sustaining medication withdrawn. Looking at other outcomes including graft survival over five years, patient survival over five years and permanent loss of kidney function, the researchers say the outcomes were about the same for the euthanasia donor kidneys compared to the others. They say this shows those who choose euthanasia can safely donate their kidneys after they die.