Organ donationDeceasedCauses of Family Refusal for Organ Donation
Section snippets
Materials and Methods
We performed a retrospective study in our organ procurement unit (OPU). We prepared a list of families of potential organ donors referred to the OPU in 2009 who had refused organ donation. We recorded demographic information and brain-death causes for each patient. An expert coordinator asked the causes of refusal from nodonor family members by phone. Frequency distribution was used for data description.
Results
ln this study, we could contact 81 out of 146 nondonor families. 58 (72%) were males and 22 (38%) were female. The mean age of candidates was 32 years (range = 18–55). Trauma was the most prominent cause of brain death (38%).
The main reasons expressed by families to justify refusal to donate the deceased's organs were: denial and rejection of brain death (44.4%); belief in a miracle (13.6%); fear about organ trade and unknown organ destination (9.9%); religious beliefs (8.6%); concern about the
Discussion
The main reasons expressed by the deceased's families to justify refusal to organ donation in our survey were denial and rejection of brain death. Brain death, agreed as death by physicians worldwide, is not completely comprehended by the general population. Family members of donors find it hard to identify that someone with a beating heart is dead. Not only among the general population but also among many health care specialists who help possible organ donors, the perception of brain death
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2022, Transplantation ReportsCitation Excerpt :In a recent study the main reason expressed by families to justify the refusal to donate the deceased's organs was denial and rejection of brain-death concept (44.4%). Other causes were believing in a miracle (13.6%), fear about organ trade and unknown organ destination (9.9%), religious beliefs (8.6%), insecurity about the brain-death diagnosis (6.2%), unstable family mood (6.2%), unknown donor wishes about donation (4.9%), belief in body integrity after death (3.7%), and fear of objection by other family members (2.5%). [3]. In another study conducted between 2008 and 2017 in Spain, the denied consent to organ donation was significantly lower.
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