Knowledge of the brain death concept by personnel in Spanish and Latin-American healthcare centers.

Background: The knowledge and acceptance of the concept of brain death (BD) among health care personnel is fundamental.

Objective: To analyze the level of understanding of the BD concept among personnel in Spanish and Latin American healthcare centers and to determine the factors affecting this attitude.

Material And Methods: Data from 12 hospitals and 32 primary care centers in 4 countries within the International Collaborative Donor Project were selected (Spain, Mexico, Cuba and Costa Rica (n=4378)).

Attitudes of non-medical staff in hospitals in Spain, Mexico, Cuba and Costa Rica towards organ donation.

Introduction: Non-medical staff members in hospitals are highly credible at population level, and are a source of opinion even though they do not have sufficient medical training.

Objectives: To analyse the attitudes of non-medical professionals of Spanish and Latin American hospitals towards organ donation and identify the factors that influence these attitudes.

Material And Method: Through the "Proyecto Colaborativo Internacional Donante" (International Collaborative Donor Project), a stratified random sample was selected from non-medical services of eleven hospitals: 3 Spanish (n=277), 5 Mexican (n=632), 2 Cuban (n=42) and 1 Costa Rican (n=101).