Organ Donation Awareness among Family Members of ICU Patients

Background and Objectives: With one of the lowest donation rates in the European Union, Romania faces challenges in organ donation from brain death donors, within an opt-in system. This study aims to measure the attitudes and knowledge of ICU patient's relatives toward organ donation. Materials and Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in the intensive care unit of the Emergency Clinical County Hospital of Oradea, Romania. A 24-item self-administered questionnaire (N = 251) was used to collect data on knowledge about organ and tissue donation and transplantation, as well as the willingness to donate. Results: A high degree of awareness and willingness for organ donation and transplantation was recorded. The main positive predictor of willingness to donate was the perception of helping others by donating their organs after brain death (beta = 0.537, OR = 1.711, p < 0.05), and the main negative predictor was the idea that the whole body should be buried intact (beta = -0.979, OR = 0.376, p < 0.01). Conclusions: A basic understanding of organ donation and transplantation and favorable attitudes toward organ donation were registered. Families' interviews for organ donation consent may be affected due to extreme emotional distress.

Automated summary

This study investigates the attitudes and knowledge of ICU patient's relatives towards organ donation in Romania. The results show that most people have a basic understanding of organ donation and transplantation and hold positive attitudes towards it, but there are still some concerns, mainly related to the integrity of the body. Extreme emotional distress may affect the interviews for organ donation consent with families.