Creation of the Rapid Organ Recovery Ambulance followed complaints from families who said their loved ones had wanted to be an organ donor but could not donate because the person died outside a hospital.
The yet-to-be launched service is facing stark criticism from ethicists and emergency medicine experts. They are concerned that ambulance crews could whisk away the body to perform procedures without consent in order to preserve the organs.
Bioethics groups are also worried about the tension the organ-preserving ambulances could create among emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and paramedics who may be charged both to save lives and to preserve organs for reuse, reports ABC News.
About 22,000 people a year die from cardiac arrest outside of a hospital and aren't considered for organ donation. The aim of the organ-donation ambulance is to avoid unnecessary medical costs and reduce risks by eliminating the unnecessary run to the hospital.
Emergency departments and transplant teams across the country are watching closely to see how the project works out.
