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  • 6.0  FACTORS INFLUENCING THE SUCCESS OF
            PROCUREMENT OF ORGANS

6.1    NURSES' ROLE IN ORGAN DONATION

Each and every nurse involved in the care of patients with brain death, must be familiar with criteria for acceptance of a cadaveric organ donor.  They should be alert to identify a case of potential brain death and suggest to the attending physician regarding a potential donor.  The initiative to notify the local organ harvesting/transplant team about the potential brain death should be taken by the nurses attending the brain-death case.  They are required to take keen interest in providing the ongoing care to the potential donor till the organs are harvested.  In addition, since they are the personnel always available on the spot, they must, along with social workers, help in supporting the family and friends of the deceased.



6.2    FACTORS AFFECTING THE FAMILY'S DECISION TO DONATE

Several factors influence the family's decision to donate the organs.

  1. The length of time from the injury, death and contacting the family.

  2. The persons present at the time of death giving moral support to the next of kin, both from the family and the professional staff.

  3. The person asking for consent.

  4. The manner in which the consent was sought.

  5. The prior knowledge of brain death, cadaveric organ donation and trans­plantation among the relatives.

  6. Whether the potential donor is carrying an organ donor card.

  7. Awareness of the family about the role of religion in donation.  In general no religion disapproves of cadaveric organ donation.


    Awareness of these factors among the medical staff and the family convin­cing committee will go a long way in getting positive results.
6.3    FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO LOSS OF POTENTIAL DONORS

Potential donors are generally lost, due to:
  1. Refusal by the next of kin.

  2.  Unacceptability of the donors due to medical reasons.

  3. Delay in the referral of a potential donor.

  4. Non-referral of potential donors.

  5. Inability to contact the relatives in time due to lack of adequate family address.

6.4 RECOMMENDATIONS TO HELP INCREASE THE NUMBER OF
      ORGANS HARVESTED

The number of organs harvested may be increased, if attention is given to carryout the following:

  1. Report potential donors early to NKF.

  2. Initiate the brain-death protocol immediately.

  3. Keep the family informed of patients' condition periodically.

  4. Have the consent obtained only by authorized personnel.

  5. Enlist the help of religious leaders while asking for the consent.

  6. Increase the efforts on public education so as to increase the awareness regarding brain death and cadaveric organ donations.

  7. Encourage people to carry kidney donor cards.  This will make it easier for the family to give consent for organ donation, since the decedents own will is known.