Case Study: Family Presence in the OR for Donation After Cardiac Death

Organ donation after cardiac death is an ethical and acceptable practice of providing organs for transplantation. Organ recovery, the removal of life support, and patient death occur in the OR, and, because family members are not present, some feel that they have abandoned their loved one. This arti...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:AORN journal 2012-07, Vol.96 (1), p.34-44
Main Authors: Reed, Charles C., Gerhardt, Susan D., Shaver, Karen, Koebcke, Marsha, Mullins, Darla
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Anesthesia & Perioperative Care
Blood & organ donations
Death
donation after cardiac death
end-of-life
ethics
Families & family life
Family - psychology
family presence
Female
Humans
Medical ethics
Mothers - psychology
Nursing
Operating Rooms
organ donation
Perianesthesia
Surgery
Tissue Donors
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Summary:Organ donation after cardiac death is an ethical and acceptable practice of providing organs for transplantation. Organ recovery, the removal of life support, and patient death occur in the OR, and, because family members are not present, some feel that they have abandoned their loved one. This article reports a case study of a young woman brought to a level I trauma center with nonsurvivable injuries from a motor vehicle accident. When clinical examinations revealed no hope of recovery, the family agreed to organ donation if the mother could be present in the OR when life support was terminated. Family member presence during organ donation may provide a sense that some good has come of a personal tragedy. Although family requests may be unsettling, advocating for the patient and family is part of the nurse's role.
ISSN:0001-2092
1878-0369
DOI:10.1016/j.aorn.2012.04.017