Literature overview highlights lack of paediatric donation protocols but identifies common themes that could guide their development

Aim: Paediatric donation is a unique and extremely sensitive process that requires specific knowledge and competencies. Most countries use protocols for organ and tissue donation to ensure optimal care for the donor and family, but these mainly focus on adults. However, the donation process for children differs from adults in many ways. An overview of the literature was performed to identify protocols for the paediatric population. Methods: PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE and the Internet were searched up to March 2016 for papers or other sources in English related to specific organ and tissue donation protocols for children and neonates. This comprised title, abstract and then full-text screening of relevant data. Results: We included 12 papers and two electronic sources that were mainly from North America and Europe. Most discussed donations after cardiac death. The recurring themes included identifying potential donors, approaching parents, palliative care and collaboration with organ procurement organisations. Most papers called for paediatric donation policies to be standardised. Conclusion: Scientific publications in English on paediatric donation protocols are very scarce. No comprehensive paediatric donation protocol was found. We identified several recurring themes in the literature that could be used to develop such protocols.