Harms of unsuccessful donation after circulatory death: An exploratory study.

ABSTRACT: While donation after circulatory death (DCD) has expanded options for organ donation, many who wish to donate are still unable to do so. We conducted face-to-face interviews with family members (N = 15) who had direct experience with unsuccessful DCD and 5 focus groups with professionals involved in the donation process. We used qualitative content analysis to characterize the harms of nondonation as perceived by participants. Participants reported a broad spectrum of harms affecting organ recipients, donors, and donor families. Harms included waste of precious life-giving organs and hospital resources, inability to honor the donor's memory and character, and impaired ability for families to make sense of tragedy and cope with loss. Donor families empathized with the initial hope and ultim

SUBMITTER: Taylor LJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5790593 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature