An organ transplant controversy tests 'the dead donor rule'

New guidelines are supposed to protect organ donors in a retrieval procedure that keeps blood flowing through livers, kidneys, lungs and hearts. But bioethicists have troubling questions.

<img src='https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/7000x3126+0+0/resize/7000x3126!/quality/85/format/webp/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fd2%2F46%2Fa2ad3f994a15b9f140a4ef191be6%2Fgettyimages-1448138188.jpg' alt='New guidelines are supposed to protect organ donors in a retrieval procedure that keeps blood flowing through livers, kidneys, lungs and hearts. But bioethicists have troubling questions.'/><p>New guidelines are supposed to protect organ donors in a retrieval procedure that keeps blood flowing through livers, kidneys, lungs and hearts. But bioethicists have troubling questions.</p><p>(Image credit: Olga Pankova)</p><img src='https://media.npr.org/include/images/tracking/npr-rss-pixel.png?story=nx-s1-6032604' />