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Family Conversations about Organ Donation

organ donation procurement remains unable to meet the demand for organs in the United States and throughout the world. Public opinion surveys consistently show that people are well aware of the need for donor organs but remain reluctant to have their organs donated or to consent to the donation of organs from relatives. It is widely acknowledged that decisions to carry a donor card are not sufficient to actually lead to donation, because it is a family member rather than the card carrier who actually makes the donation decision at the time of death. Knowledge that the deceased carried a donor card and wished to donate his or her organs is an important factor in the decision of the family member to donate. Families who miss the opportunity to donate frequently experience more difficulty in the grieving process. The most important role of the donor card may be to stimulate family discussion. Less than 50% of families that have been studied have had discussions about organ donation, although intent to donate and positive attitudes toward donation increase after family discussion. Although the importance of family discussion in influencing actual donation is established, little is known about the nature of these discussions. Most research has assumed that all organ donation discussions among family members will have the same impact, although there is no empiric evidence to suggest this is the case. Some approaches to discussion about the topic may increase likelihood of family compliance with the wishes of the potential donor, while other approaches may have the opposite effect. The goal of this study is to look in more detail at reports of such discussions and examine relationships between differing approaches to the topic, attitudes, and apparent outcomes of the discussion. Thus, the following research questions were addressed: • What relationships exist between the content of family discussion about organ donation and the reported outcome of such discussions? (RQ1) • What relationships exist between reported willingness to donate organs and the content and likelihood of family discussion about organ donation? (RQ2) • What relationships exist between attitudes toward organ donation and the content and likelihood of family discussion about organ donation? (RQ3)