Human Whole-Eye Donation for Research-Optimizing Clinical Trial Informed Consent.

Importance: Posthumous whole-eye (globe) donations for research lack a mechanism that reinvolves the existing ophthalmic research team of the donor unless there is a preplanned donor directive. Disconnection between the deceased and their research team equates to lost opportunities for the research team to have a longitudinal view of the eyes that have been involved in their research.

Objectives: To use the clinical trial informed consent process to create a posthumous research donation opportunity that directs the donation to the currently affiliated research team of the donors (preserving the longitudinal research experience).

The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on deceased and living organ donors in the United States of America.

A life-saving treatment, solid organ transplantation (SOT) has transformed the survival and quality of life of patients with end-organ dysfunction. The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has impacted the practice of deceased and living donations worldwide by various resource shifting, including healthcare personnel and equipment such as ventilators and bed space. Our work explores the COVID-19 pandemic and global transplant data to create a statistical model for deducing the impact of COVID-19 on living donor and deceased donor transplants in the United States of America (USA).

Physician perceptions of surveillance: Wearables, Apps, and Chatbots for COVID-19.

Background And Purpose: To characterize the global physician community's opinions on the use of digital tools for COVID-19 public health surveillance and self-surveillance.

Materials And Methods: Cross-sectional, random, stratified survey done on Sermo, a physician networking platform, between September 9 and 15, 2020. We aimed to sample 1000 physicians divided among the USA, EU, and rest of the world.

Exploring the ethical complexity of pediatric organ transplant candidates and COVID-19 vaccination: Tensions between autonomy and beneficence, children and parents.

Background: POT is emotionally sensitive due to cohort vulnerability, their lack of decisional capacity, and waitlist mortality. The COVID-19 pandemic has added complexity to the setting of pediatric transplantation, as well as living donation, due to tensions about COVID-19 vaccination for recipients, donors, and parent-caregivers.

Methods: In the context of COVID-19 vaccination, two ethicists present four pediatric donation and transplant dilemmas for ethical exploration and offer guidance to clinical teams, noting that mandates are controversial, and there is no global harmonization regarding requirements.

Polish attitudes towards unspecified kidney donation: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Chronic kidney disease effects about 4.2 million people in Poland, yet Polish organ donation research is rare. In addition, compared to other countries in the world, Poland has a relatively low living donation rate.

The Freelance Ethics Consultant: Practice Model and Opportunities.

The first ethicists of the 1970s paved the way for the three most familiar models of clinical ethics consultation: (1) a single consultant, (2) a member of a hospital ethics committee, and (3) a member of a subcommittee of a hospital ethics committee. Within the single consultant model there are (A) the lone ethicist (a member of hospital staff, working alone when consulting) and (B) the independent ethicist (a freelance, external consultant, working alone). This article discusses the structure and opportunities offered by the freelance, independent ethicist model, and provides guidance for those who employ freelance, independent ethicists, as well as guidance for ethicists who are considering adopting this practice model.

Research ethics committees: A forum where scientists, editors, and policymakers can cooperate during pandemics.

During public health pandemics such as COVID-19, cooperative behaviors among scientists, journal editors, policy makers and research ethics committees, are essential to promote scientific integrity and societal trust in translational research and resultant public health decisions. This cooperation is possible by expanding the current way of working to include stakeholders beyond the research team via community events and special communication channels sponsored by research ethics committees. Research ethics committees with wider communication channels, increased transparency, and enhanced knowledge exchange have the potential to improve research design, performance, dissemination, and ultimately public benefit.

Arguments for 'ocular donation' as standardised terminology to reduce the 'ick factor' of 'eye donation'.

This brief report presents the global problem of the shortfall of donor corneal tissue for transplantation, a potential root cause ('ick factor' language), and a potential solution (modification of 'ick factor' language). Specifically, use of the term 'eye donation' is a potential hurdle to ocular tissue donation as it can stimulate the 'ick factor.' Verbiage such as 'ocular (eye tissue)' could be a method of providing terminology that is less emotive than 'eye donor' or 'eye donation.

Authorship commerce: Bylines for sale.

Scholarly authorship confers recognition and prestige and is used for promotion and tenure. In this commentary, the authors discuss a form of guest authorship known as authorship commerce (AC). This is an extreme example of misconduct, linked to bribery, which is potentially underestimated because it is difficult to detect.

The carnage of substandard research during the COVID-19 pandemic: a call for quality.

Worldwide there are currently over 1200 research studies being performed on the topic of COVID-19. Many of these involve children and adults over age 65 years. There are also numerous studies testing investigational vaccines on healthy volunteers.

Unicorn Poo and Blessed Waters: COVID-19 Quackery and FDA Warning Letters.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has created a global setting of clinical crisis and human anxiety. Without available safe and effective vaccines and cures, an unscrupulous marketplace has emerged selling COVID-19 quackery (fraudulent misrepresentation of preventions and treatments).

Methods: US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Warning Letters issued from March 2020 to July 2020 were analyzed for themes pertaining to unapproved, adulterated, and misbranded COVID-19 products.

Integrity watchdogs, lap dogs, and dead dogs.

Integrity officers working in academic and research settings can be termed "watchdogs" based on characteristics and behaviors that align with their role: alert, loyal to their training, responders, notifiers. These watchdogs have a difficult role that involves being the receiver and transmitter of sensitive information that often relates to personal and corporate image, as well as funding. Academic and research organizations must operationalize their mission and vision with more than static policies and procedures about integrity and professionalism, or they risk their watchdogs being reduced to "lap dogs" with a diminutive and submissive presence who are merely loyal to the comfort zone of their employer.

Antibodies as Currency: COVID-19's Golden Passport.

Due to COVID-19, the fragile economy, travel restrictions, and generalized anxieties, the concept of antibodies as a "declaration of immunity" or "passport" is sweeping the world. Numerous scientific and ethical issues confound the concept of an antibody passport; nonetheless, antibodies can be seen as a potential currency to allow movement of people and resuscitation of global economics. Just as financial currency can be forged, so too is the potential for fraudulent antibody passports.

Exploring the motives of Israeli Jews who were living kidney donors to strangers.

Non-directed living donors are individuals who donate a kidney to a recipient with whom they have neither a genetic nor emotional relationship. Israel legalized this type of donation in 2008. After this law was implemented, living donations significantly expanded.

Luxembourg's approach to research integrity during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the pace of research from its routine marathon to a sprint, and this can increase the risk of both human error (mistakes) as well as research misconduct. In an effort to save time, researchers can be tempted to "cut corners", discount ethical complexity, or use methods and approaches that fall outside of good research practice. Ethically, it is vital that research outputs during a pandemic be robust because clinical decision-making may reflect on these research results.

A 10-year follow up of publishing ethics in China: what is new and what is unchanged.

Background: Organ donation and transplantation in China are ethically complex due to questionable informed consent and the use of prisoners as donors. Publishing works from China can be problematic. The objective of this study was to perform a 10-year follow up on Chinese journals active in donation and transplant publishing regarding the evolution of their publishing guidelines.

A Lifesaving View of Vascularized Composite Allotransplantation: Patient Experience of Social Death Before and After Face, Hand, and Larynx Transplant.

Introduction: Most solid organ transplantation is viewed as lifesaving, whereas vascularized composite allotransplantation (VCA) has been viewed as life enhancing. This article challenges the latter and argues that "social death" evident in severe face, hand, and larynx disfigurement can be potentially treated via VCA. Social death (from a social science perspective) consists of a combination of 7 components: social isolation, loneliness, ostracism, loss of personhood, change of role and identity, harm, and disfigurement.

What's Mine is Yours: Long-Term Experiences of Good Samaritan Organ Donors.

This study is a long-term follow-up on the health and quality of life of Good Samaritan living organ donors who donated an average of 10 years ago. Thirteen donors (kidney, liver, and lung) completed 2 surveys. Data from the RAND 36-Item Health Survey showed that for all domains, as well as the physical and mental component summary scales, the Good Samaritan donor outcomes were superior to the general population ( < .

Looking the World in the Face: The Benefits and Challenges of Facial Transplantation for Blind Patients.

Total bilateral blindness in the setting of facial transplantation is a controversial matter. Some transplant teams exclude these candidates, while others accept them onto their facial transplant waiting list. Using 3 cases, the clinical and ethical complexity of total bilateral blindness is explored.

Perspectives of US and Australian Hand Therapists About Pediatric Hand Transplantation.

Introduction: Pediatric hand transplantation (PHT), an investigational therapy, was recently performed in the United States.

Research Questions: Perspectives of hand therapists about PHT patient selection (inclusion and exclusion criteria), team configuration, patient assent, and patient compliance were explored.

Design: Quantitative survey.

The Use of Visual Arts as a Window to Diagnosing Medical Pathologies.

Observation is a key step preceding diagnosis, prognostication, and treatment. Careful patient observation is a skill that is learned but rarely explicitly taught. Furthermore, proper clinical observation requires more than a glance; it requires attention to detail.

Increasing Donation Opportunities for Vascularized Composite Allografts: An Analysis of Worldwide Donor Registries and Procurement Organization Web Content (VOLAR Study).

There are 40 vascularized composite allotransplant programs across 5 continents served by 31 organ procurement organizations (or equivalent). The organizations' websites inform about organ and tissue donation. This research explored worldwide educational efforts on vascularized composite allograft (VCAG) donation via their corporate websites as well as options within donor registries and donor card systems to indicate a VCAG donation preference.