Who may determine the death of the donor under these rules?

• A. The transplant surgeon
• B. A nurse from the transplant unit
• C. A physician not involved in transplantation
• D. The donor's family

Answer: (C)

Determining death in a donor must be an independent medical judgment made by a physician who has no involvement in the transplantation or organ procurement process. This independence ensures that the criteria for death—such as brain death or circulatory death—are applied objectively and without any potential conflicts of interest. A transplant surgeon is directly tied to the outcome of the procedure and could have a vested interest in proceeding with donation, which could bias the decision. A nurse in the transplant unit provides essential patient care but does not make the official death determination according to medical criteria. The donor’s family is not equipped to determine death, as this requires specific clinical criteria and legal standards. Therefore, the appropriate choice is a physician not involved in transplantation who can render an impartial, criteria-based determination.