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. 2023 Nov 8;9(12):e1557.
doi: 10.1097/TXD.0000000000001557. eCollection 2023 Dec.

A Single-center Exploration of Attitudes to Deceased Organ Donation Over Time Among Healthcare Staff in Intensive Care

Benjamin Heeley  1   2 , Laurence Hodierne  1   2 , Ian Johnson  2 , Dale Gardiner  2   3
Affiliations

A Single-center Exploration of Attitudes to Deceased Organ Donation Over Time Among Healthcare Staff in Intensive Care

Benjamin Heeley et al. Transplant Direct. .

Abstract

Background: Changes to deceased organ donation in the United Kingdom, including establishment of the specialist nurse for organ donation (SNOD) role, have resulted in increased numbers of donations. Have increasing numbers of donations altered attitudes among intensive care unit (ICU) healthcare professionals (ICU staff) to organ donation over time?

Methods: A written survey of ICU staff at Nottingham University Hospitals National Health Service Trust was conducted across 2 wk in 2015, 2018, and 2020 (pre-COVID-19). Participants were asked to submit descriptors (words/phrases) they associated with 3 aspects of donation: donation after brain death (DBD), donation after circulatory death (DCD), and SNOD role. Three independent and blinded assessors categorized the descriptors as positive or negative in favorability. Thematic analysis was used to identify trends within each group of descriptors.

Results: Across the 3 surveys, 281 responses were returned, containing a total of 2095 descriptors. Positive descriptors were found in 65% of DBD responses, 46% of DCD responses, and 92% of SNOD role. Over time, there was some evidence of increased polarization of opinion for DCD and to a smaller degree DBD. Attitude toward the SNOD role remained consistently highly favorable over time. Thematic analysis was correlated with the assessor favorability ratings to identify specific factors for positive or negative attitudes; this demonstrated the themes that were the most common causes of positive or negative attributions for each aspect of organ donation.

Conclusions: ICU staff were found to be highly favorably positive toward the SNOD role, positive toward DBD, and negative toward DCD. Although we found broadly positive perceptions of the benefits of deceased organ donation, negative attitudes toward DCD centered on timescale and complexity of the donation process. Measurement of staff attitudes to organ donation may allow targeted interventions that support staff and improve patient and family care through the organ donation process.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no funding or conflicts of interest.

Figures

None
Graphical abstract
FIGURE 1.
FIGURE 1.
Survey participant profession by year (%).
FIGURE 2.
FIGURE 2.
Mean number of descriptors by subject and year.
FIGURE 3.
FIGURE 3.
A, Favorability assessment of DBD descriptors by year. B, Favorability assessment of DCD descriptors by year. C, Favorability assessment of SNOD descriptors by year. DBD, donation after brain death; DCD, donation after circulatory death; SNOD, specialist nurse for organ donation.
FIGURE 4.
FIGURE 4.
A, Ten most frequent DBD themes by frequency (area) and favorability (color). B, Ten most frequent DCD themes by frequency (area) and favorability (color). C, Ten most frequent SNOD themes by frequency (area) and favorability (color). DBD, donation after brain death; DCD, donation after circulatory death; SNOD, specialist nurse for organ donation.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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