Hospital Health Professionals' Education About Organ and Tissue Donation: A Turin Hospital Experience

Qualitative Analysis of Factors That Hinder Intensive Care Unit Nurses in Western China From Encouraging Patients to Donate Organs

BACKGROUND

Organ transplantation is an important method to save the lives of patients suffering from organ failure. However, the low rate of organ donation is a common problem worldwide. Many potential organ donors in the intensive care unit (ICU) are not properly identified, which is one reason for the low donation rate. ICU nurses play a key role in organ donation but may be uncertain regarding some issues. In this study, an analysis of the reasons why ICU nurses in western China are reluctant to encourage patients and their families to donate organs is performed, providing a reference for promoting ICU nurse participation in organ donation work.

METHODS

From August to November of 2017, using a purposive sampling method, we conducted semi-structured, in-depth interviews using a phenomenological research method with 18 ICU nurses who were working in 4 large hospitals with organ transplant accreditation in Chongqing City, China, and analyzed the data with phenomenology.

RESULTS

Reasons for the reluctance of ICU nurses in encouraging patients to donate organs were categorized into the following 4 themes: limitation of the nurses' professional role, influence of the family's negative emotions, lack of training regarding organ donation in medical institutions, and impact of a conservative social attitude.

CONCLUSION

Chinese medical and health institutions need to attach importance to the duties and roles of ICU nurses in organ donation work, the creation of a good death culture, the implementation of training for organ donation specialist nurses, and the strengthening of advocacy efforts for organ donation so that ICU nurses' reluctance in engaging in organ donation coordination in China can be mitigated and the nurses can better participate in promoting organ donation to potential donors.

Corneal Donor Profile and Evolution of Corneal Donation in a Brazilian State Where the Number of Individuals on the Waiting List Reached Zero But Increased Again

BACKGROUND

In most countries, the amount of corneal graft tissue available for transplantation is insufficient to meet demand. In 2010, there were 459 patients on the waiting list for corneal transplantation (WLCT) in Espirito Santo (ES), a Brazilian state with 3,885,000 inhabitants. Several strategies were implemented to reduce the number of individuals on the WLCT, which reached zero in 2011. Studies on the evolution of corneal donation contribute to reducing the WLCT worldwide. The aim of this study was to describe the evolution of corneal donation in ES and the profile of corneal donors from 2010 to 2013.

METHODS

This was a retrospective study. The data were collected from records referring to donations of corneas and from the archives of the Center for Organ Procurement and Distribution of ES. Statistical software was used to perform descriptive analysis of the data.

RESULTS

The sample consisted of 1359 donors, aged 46.82 ± 17.32 (mean ± standard deviation), 70.1% of whom were male. Most of the consent forms for donation were signed by the sons of the donors. In 2011, there was a major increase (105%) in the number of corneal transplants compared with 2010; consequently, the number of patients on the WLCT reached zero, but increased again, reaching 139 patients in 2013.

CONCLUSION

This study shows that strategies to increase corneal donations should be continued even after reduction or elimination waiting time on the WLCT.