Ethical reflection support for potential organ donors' relatives: A narrative review.

Background: Even in countries with an opt-out or presumed consent system, relatives have a considerable influence on the post-mortem organ harvesting decision. However, their reflection capacity may be compromised by grief, and they are, therefore, often prone to choose refusal as default option. Quite often, it results in late remorse and dissatisfaction.

Being Convinced and Taking Responsibility: A Qualitative Study of Family Members' Experience of Organ Donation Decision and Bereavement After Brain Death.

Objectives: Family members of brain dead patients experience an unprecedented situation in which not only they are told that their loved one is dead but are also asked to consider organ donation. The objective of this qualitative study was to determine 1) what it means for family members to make the decision and to take responsibility, 2) how they interact with the deceased patient in the ICU, 3) how family members describe the impact of the process and of the decision on their bereavement process.

Design: Qualitative study using interviews with bereaved family members who were approached for organ donation after the death of their relative in the ICU (brain death).

Grief Symptoms in Relatives Who Experienced Organ Donation Requests in the ICU.

Rationale: Studies show that the quality of end-of-life communication and care have a significant impact on the living long after the death of a relative and have been implicated in the burden of psychological symptoms after the ICU experience. In the case of organ donation, the patient's relatives are centrally involved in the decision-making process; yet, few studies have examined the impact of the quality of communication on the burden of psychological symptoms after death.

Objectives: To assess the experience of the organ donation process and grief symptoms in relatives of brain-dead patients who discussed organ donation in the ICU.

Clinicians' Perception and Experience of Organ Donation From Brain-Dead Patients.

Objective: ICU clinicians are primarily involved in organ donation after brain death of ICU patients. Their perceptions of organ donation may affect outcomes. Our objective was to describe ICU clinician's perceptions and experience of organ donation.

[Prospective study of harvest-to-transplant time: proposed organization].

Introduction: The cold ischaemia time of a kidney before transplantation has a negative impact on the risk of acute tubular necrosis and graft survival. This cold ischaemia time can be reduced by a different organization of harvesting, organ distribution and transplantation.

Material And Methods: Seventy nine organ donor case files from the same hospital were reviewed from reception of the donor until transplantation.

Long-term results of renal transplantation using kidneys harvested from non-heartbeating donors: a 15-year experience.

Purpose: To expand the pool of suitable organ donors we developed an organ procurement program of non-heartbeating donors during the last 15 years. We compare graft survival in patients receiving renal transplants procured from non-heartbeating with recipients of kidneys from heartbeating donors.

Materials And Methods: From 1986 to 1999, 60 renal transplantations were performed with kidneys harvested from non-heartbeating donors (Mastrich category IV).