Physician Experiences with Communicating Organ Donation with the Relatives: A Dutch Nationwide Evaluation on Factors that Influence Consent Rates

• Published in: Neurocritical care 2019-10, Vol.31 (2), p.357-364
• Main Authors: Witjes, Marloes, Kruijff, P. Edwin Vorstius, Haase-Kromwijk, Bernadette J. J. M., van der Hoeven, Johannes G., Jansen, Nichon E., Abdo, Wilson F.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Blood & organ donations; Brain Death; Collaboration; Communication; Consent; Critical Care; Critical Care Medicine; Decision Making; Humans; Intensive; Intensive care; Internal Medicine; Medical Futility; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Netherlands; Neurology; Original Work; Physicians; Professional-Family Relations; Questionnaires; Third-Party Consent; Tissue and Organ Procurement; Verbal communication
• ISSN: 1541-6933; 1556-0961
• DOI: 10.1007/s12028-019-00678-8

Background The aim of this nationwide observational study is to identify modifiable factors in communication about organ donation that influence family consent rates. Methods Thirty-two intensivists specialized in organ donation systematically evaluated all consecutive organ donation requests with physicians in the Netherlands between January 2013 and June 2016, using a standardized questionnaire. Results Out of 2528 consecutive donation requests, 2095 (83%) were evaluated with physicians. The questionnaires of patients registered with consent or objection in the national donor registry were excluded from analysis. Only those questionnaires, in which the family had to make a decision about donation, were analyzed ( n  = 1322). Independent predictors of consent included: requesting organ donation during the conversation about futility of treatment (OR 1.8; p  = 0.004), understanding of the term ‘brain death’ by the family (OR 2.4; p  = 0.002), and consulting a donation expert prior to the donation request (OR 3.4; p