Organ donation and transplantation: a survey of critical care health professionals in nontransplant hospitals.

Context: Exploration of the role of critical care professionals in improving organ donation within Canada has been limited to tertiary care centers while donor potential in smaller nontransplant hospitals remains unknown.

Objective: To gain an understanding of the knowledge, attitudes, and perceived barriers that healthcare professionals in 5 nontransplant hospitals in Alberta have toward organ donation and transplantation, and to identify factors that influenced participation in the donation process.

Design: A descriptive survey of critical care professionals. Setting-Five nontransplant hospitals in Alberta, Canada.

Results: Of the 135 respondents, 98 were critical care nurses, 32 were physicians, and 5 were hospital administrators. Respondents were least knowledgeable about transplant statistics and religious beliefs regarding donation, although overall, attitudes reflected positive support for organ donation. Respondents exhibited reluctance in approaching a potential donor family, and believed inadequate resources were allocated for organ donation.

Conclusions: Educational programs are needed to increase knowledge of organ donation and transplantation as well as the development of an in-house coordinator program in nontransplant hospitals for critical care personnel.