Dataset Information

Potential for organ donation in the United Kingdom: audit of intensive care records.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

To determine the true potential for solid organ donation from deceased heartbeating donors and the reasons for non-donation from potential donors.

Design

An audit of all deaths in intensive care units, 1 April 2003 to 31 March 2005. The study was hierarchic, in that information was sought on whether or not brain stem testing was carried out; if so, whether or not organ donation was considered; if so whether or not the next of kin were approached; if so, whether or not consent was given; if so, whether or not organ donation took place.

Setting

341 intensive care units in 284 hospitals in the United Kingdom.

Participants

46,801 dead patients, leading to 2740 potential heartbeating solid organ donors and 1244 actual donors.

Main outcome measures

Proportion of potential deceased heartbeating donors considered for organ donation, proportion of families who denied consent, and proportion of potential donors who became organ donors.

Results

Over the two years of the study, 41% of the families of potential donors denied consent. The refusal rate for families of potential donors from ethnic minorities was twice that for white potential donors, but the age and sex of the potential donor did not affect the refusal rate. In 15% of families of potential donors there was no record of the next of kin being approached for permission for organ donation.

Conclusions

Intensive care units are extremely good in considering possible organ donation from suitable patients. The biggest obstacle to improving the organ donation rate is the high proportion of relatives who deny consent.

SUBMITTER: Barber K

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1459557 | biostudies-literature | 2006 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Potential for organ donation in the United Kingdom: audit of intensive care records.

Barber Kerri K Falvey Sue S Hamilton Claire C Collett Dave D Rudge Chris C

BMJ (Clinical research ed.) 20060426 7550

<h4>Objectives</h4>To determine the true potential for solid organ donation from deceased heartbeating donors and the reasons for non-donation from potential donors.<h4>Design</h4>An audit of all deaths in intensive care units, 1 April 2003 to 31 March 2005. The study was hierarchic, in that information was sought on whether or not brain stem testing was carried out; if so, whether or not organ donation was considered; if so whether or not the next of kin were approached; if so, whether or not c ...[more]

PMID: 16641118

Similar Datasets

Project description:BACKGROUND:Discussing deceased organ donation can be difficult not only for families but for health professionals who initiate and manage the conversations. It is well recognised that the methods of communication and communication skills of health professionals are key influences on decisions made by families regarding organ donation. METHODS:This multicentre study is being performed in nine intensive care units with follow-up conducted by the Organ and Tissue Donation Service in New South Wales (NSW) Australia. The control condition is pre-intervention usual practice for at least six months before each site implements the intervention. The COMFORT intervention consists of six elements: family conversations regarding offers for organ donation to be led by a "designated requester"; family offers for donation are deferred to the designated requester; the offer of donation is separated from the end-of-life discussion that death is inevitable; it takes place within a structured family donation conversation using a "balanced" approach. Designated requesters may be intensivists, critical care nurses or social workers prepared by attending the three-day national "Family Donation Conversation" workshops, and the half-day NSW Simulation Program. The design is pre-post intervention to compare rates of family consent for organ donation six months before and under the intervention. Each ICU crosses from using the control to intervention condition after the site initiation visit. The primary endpoint is the consent rate for deceased organ donation calculated from 140 eligible next of kin families. Secondary endpoints are health professionals' adherence rates to core elements of the intervention; identification of predictors of family donation decision; and the proportion of families who regret their final donation decision at 90 days. DISCUSSION:The pragmatic design of this study may identify 'what works' in usual clinical settings when requesting organ donation in critical care areas, both in terms of changes in practice healthcare professionals are willing and able to adopt, and the effect this may have on desired outcomes. The findings of this study will be indicative of the potential benefits of the intervention and be relevant and transferrable to clinical settings in other states and countries. TRIAL REGISTRATION:Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR): ACTRN12613000815763 (24 July 2013). ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01922310 (14 August 2013) (retrospectively registered).

Dataset Information

Potential for organ donation in the United Kingdom: audit of intensive care records.

Objectives

Design

Setting

Participants

Main outcome measures

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Potential for organ donation in the United Kingdom: audit of intensive care records.

Similar Datasets

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