Patient and Family-Centred Care of Potential Organ Donors in the ICU setting: Family Recommendations to Improve the Organ Donation Process

See publication:  The experiences of family members of deceased organ donors and suggestions to improve the donation process: a qualitative study

We found gaps in family support during end-of-life and donation care. Feelings of abandonment, lack of support and poor-to-little follow-up provide the empirical findings needed for hospitals and organ donor organizations to provide better support to donor families.

Se also: Death determination by neurologic criteria-what do families understand?

Family members' understanding of brain death and death determination represented a journey that they reported in sequential meeting with health care providers, most notably physicians. Modifiable factors to improve communication and bereavement outcomes during DNC include attention to the state of mind of the family, pacing and repeating discussions according to families' expressed understanding, and preparing and inviting families to be present for the clinical determination including apnea testing. We have provided family-generated recommendations that are pragmatic and can be easily implemented.