Critical appraisals and cultural acceptance of the dead donor rule: A revisit of the contemporary transplantation era

Transplantation remains one of the most rapidly expanding surgical specialties. Harvesting organs plays a crucial step in this highly complex surgical and communication process, and the moment at which vital organs can be donated depends on the declaration of end-of-life. This declaration must be performed by medical practitioners on the basis of clear standardized criteria of death confirmation, within competent local and regional jurisdictions, and with the use of confirmatory tests as indicated to ascertain the irreversibility of end-of-life. The current medically and legally accepted definition of death in most societies challenges the traditional and societal understandings of the process of end-of-life. Significant criticisms and cultural oppositions to transplantation still exist, and there is an ongoing debate about the role and the status of transplantation as surgical and medical sciences continue to evolve. By discussing the social acceptance and common understanding of end-of-life determination, we aim to highlight the current knowledge on transplant ethics with respect to the balance between the need to protect the potential organ donor and the need to donate organs at their utmost viability. No report has been done on social acceptance of transplantation in Rwanda or other Low- and Middle-Income countries (LMIC); though, as emphasis on organ transplantation evolves, we also aim to highlight the need for clear directions towards new transplantation regulations. Technical and non-technical critical arguments and moral acceptance are juxtaposed with the elucidated ethical and deontological principles to support the contemporary concept of the dead donor rule

Forensic Anthropological Examination and DNA Analysis in the Identification of Human Remains in Rwanda

The identification of human remains plays a big role in solving legal and social challenges. To date; significant strides have been made to help positively identify human body remains following both natural and man-made disasters as well as reported cases of missing individuals. Thorough anthropological examination and DNA analysis of the remains can be used to conclusively link the profiles of the remains to persons if a potential living match is available even after a long period of time. We present cases of excavated human remains and samples from Rwanda that were part of both legal and social disputes. Following anthropological examination and DNA analysis; the disputes were conclusively settled. This case report also highlights the possibilities as well as challenges of identifying victim remains of larger calamities such as the 1994 Genocide perpetrated against the Tutsis in Rwanda in which an estimated one million Tutsis lost their lives