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PERSPECTIVE ARTICLE
Categorization challenges in research on organ donation after euthanasia: Determining somatic or psychiatric origins of suffering
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1
Department of Intensive Care Medicine, Maastricht University Medical Center+, Maastricht, Limburg,
Netherlands
2
Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Flevoziekenhuis, GGZ Centraal, Almere, Flevoland,
Netherlands
3
Department of Surgery, Transplantation Coordination Services, Maastricht University Medical Center+, Maastricht, Limburg,
Netherlands
4
Department of Anesthesiology, Pain and Palliative Medicine, University Medical Center, Nijmegen, Gelderland,
Netherlands
5
Academy for Postgraduate Training, Maastricht University Medical Center+, Maastricht, Limburg,
Netherlands
6
School of Health Professions Education, Maastricht University, Maastricht, Limburg,
Netherlands
Submitted: 15 March 2024 | Accepted: 28 June 2024 | Published: 22 July 2024
© 2024 by the Author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )
Abstract
This perspective article discusses the classification challenges encountered in organ donation after euthanasia (ODE) among individuals with psychiatric disorders, as highlighted in our recent case series. In cases involving “somatic symptoms and related disorders,” somatic symptoms are connected to excessive thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, causing distress or dysfunction. Conditions such as tinnitus and chronic pain often co-occur with psychiatric disorders. The recent Dutch guideline on ODE eliminated the requirement to distinguish between somatic and psychiatric causes of suffering. This updated guideline encourages a holistic approach to patient care, emphasizing the importance of addressing patients’ overall suffering rather than specific categorizations. To avoid errors in classification, categorization in research on ODE should recognize the overlap between somatic and psychiatric diagnoses, thereby eliminating the risk of misclassification, avoiding the stigmatization of patients, and optimizing future treatment options.
Keywords
Euthanasia
Organ donation
Psychiatric disorder
Suffering
Organ donation euthanasia
Classification
Pain syndrome
Tinnitus
Funding
None.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
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