The US Deaprtment of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Division of Transplantation (DoT), focused on furthering the safety and effectiveness of organ donation and transplantation from donors after cardiac death (DCD), arranged a national symposium on this topic. The symposium was held in Phoenix, AZ, during April 1 - 2, 2008. Michael DeVita, MD, was invited to co-chair this important session to provide a forum for discussion and review concerns regarding DCD protocols as well as outcomes associated with DCD. Dr. DeVita has become a world authority on problems related to DCD and is the lead author of an article entitled "Donors after Cardiac Death: Validation of Identification Criteria (DVIC) Study for Prediction of Rapid Death," published in the American Journal of Transplantation 2008; 8:432 - 44, which analyzed the occurrence of death in 505 patients at five university hospitals when life sustaining treatment was withdrawn.