Opinions of healthcare students on organ and tissue donation for transplantation

ABSTRACT Objectives: to analyze the opinions of healthcare students on organ and tissue donation for transplantation. Methods: qualitative document analysis study, using the records of a database and analyzing data from two perspectives: 1) Lexical analysis, with the IRAMUTEQ software, and 2) Thematic content analysis. Results: from the analysis, 3 main categories were generated: 1) Organ and tissue donation as an act of love for others and an opportunity of a new beginning; 2) Clarification and awareness on organ and tissue donation; and 3) Importance of communicating the family and promoting organ and tissue donation. Final Considerations: despite being in favor of donation, students also recognize the presence of social taboos; the discussion in the family nucleus, promoting the theme and raising awareness in society are considered important. Additionally, the education of students is one of the possibilities of intervention for the issue.

A Gift of Generosity—An Explanation of Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation for Muslim Audiences

Diseased Organ and tissue donation and transplantation entails removing organ and tissues from someone (the donor) and transplanting them into another person (the recipient). Transplanting organs and tissues from one person hold the capacity to save or significantly improve the quality of life of multiple recipients. This is a rare opportunity for one to become an organ donor. In 2018, Australia had a population of 24.99 million. A total of 160,909 lives were lost that year; almost half of this death occurred in hospitals. However, a person may only be able to become a donor if their death occurs in a particular way and fulfils a defined set of special criteria—for example, while on the life support machine in an intensive care unit. Because of this, only 1211 people out of the large number of lives lost in 2018 were eligible to be potential organ donors. This is one of reasons we encourage everybody to consider the virtues of organ and tissue donation in any end-of-life discussion. Diseased organ donation occurs only when the clinician is certain that the person has died. The death is diagnosed by neurological criteria or by circulatory criteria which are discussed in detail in the article. This is an unconditional altruistic and non-commercial act. A large number of people are waiting on transplant list in Australia who are suffering from end stage organ failure; some of them will die waiting unless one receives an organ transplantation. Australians are known to be highly generous people. That is why 98% of Australian say ‘Yes’ to become an organ donor when they die. But in reality, only about 64% of families consent for organ donation on an average. There are widespread misconceptions and myths about this subject, mostly due to lack of information and knowledge. I have attempted to explain the steps of diseased organ donation in this article which, hopefully will be able to break some of those misconceptions. I have avoided to discuss living donation which is entirely a different subject. I have only touched on Islamic perspective of organ donation here as multiple Islamic scholars are going to shed lights here. We encourage everybody to ‘Discover’ the facts about organ and tissue donation, to make an informed ‘Decision’ and ‘Discuss’ this with the family. If the family knows the wishes of the loved one, it makes their decision-making process much easier during such a devastating and stressful time.

Neonatal donation: are newborns too young to be recognized?

Neonatal organ and tissue donation is not common practice in the Netherlands. At the same time, there is a transplant waiting list for small size-matched organs and tissues. Multiple factors may contribute to low neonatal donation rates, including a lack of awareness of this option. This study provides insight into potential neonatal organ and tissue donors and reports on how many donors were actually reported to the procurement organization. We performed a retrospective analysis of the mortality database and medical records of two largest neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) in the Netherlands. This study reviewed records of neonates with a gestational age >37 weeks and weight >3000g who died in the period from January 1, 2005 through December 31, 2016. During the study period, 259 term-born neonates died in the two NICUs. In total, 132 neonates with general contra-indications for donation were excluded. The medical records of 127 neonates were examined for donation suitability. We identified five neonates with documented brain death who were not recognized as potential organ and/or tissue donors. Of the remaining neonates, 27 were found suitable for tissue donation. One potential tissue donor had been reported to the procurement organization. In three cases, the possibility of donation was brought up by parents.Conclusion: A low proportion (2%) of neonates who died in the NICUs were found suitable for organ donation, and a higher proportion (12%) were found suitable for tissue donation. We suggest that increased awareness concerning the possibility of neonatal donation would likely increase the identification of potential neonatal donors. What is Known:• There is an urgent need for very small organs and tissues from neonatal donorsWhat is New:• A number of neonates who died in the NICU were suitable organ or/and tissue donors but were not recognized as donors.• Knowledge on neonatal donation possibilities is also important for proper counseling of parents who sometimes inquire for the possibility of organ and tissue donation.

Why community specialist practitioner district nurses should promote tissue donation

A high proportion of patients are being supported with end-of-life (EoL) care in the community, many of which are known to district nursing (DN) caseloads. Over time, community specialist practitioner district nursing (CSPDN) teams build therapeutic relationships with patients, and they are adept at providing EoL care. They are also now actively and routinely undertaking verification of death (VoD). Thus, they are in a prime position to promote and facilitate community tissue donation among patients and their families. The Government has recognised a need to promote organ and tissue donation, implementing the Organ Donation (Deemed Consent) Act (2019) , whereby every person over the age of 18 years is now considered for organ and tissue donation with the anticipation of more recipients receiving life-changing tissue transplantation. DN teams seem to lack awareness of the change in law and, therefore, are not actively promoting this in practice. Further, there is no available community-focused guidance or training to support DNs to have these difficult and complex conversations enabling exploration of patients' wishes with regard to promote tissue donation. Therefore, guidance and education are needed in order to improve overall referrals, in the hope that they lead to an increase in donation.

Current Challenges Facing Cornea Banks

Cornea transplants are tissue transplants and, as such, must be distinguished from organ transplants (e.g. heart or kidney transplants). However, tissue transplants can only be performed if there are enough donors available to attend to patients in need. Unfortunately, there are too few organ and tissue donors in Germany. All steps involved in processing donor tissues must be performed in accordance with the highest quality standards. All tasks and measures are aimed at improving patient care in the surgical units that are to be supplied. Cornea banks are subject to complex requirements, whose implementation is essential in terms of both infrastructure and personnel. The analysis and identification of essential topics reveal central fields of action that are decisive for implementing the challenges facing cornea banks. Questions of employee qualification, strategic questions due to new transplantation techniques, and changes in the societal perception of organ and tissue donation require the development of strategies that should have a holistic and sustainable effect.

Gifts of Life

This chapter examines views and practices of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) regarding organ and tissue donation, which historically have evolved from a posture of ecclesiastical discouragement to a contemporary commendation. The ethics of organ and tissue donation can be situated within an LDS communal ethos of love of neighbor, altruism, and offering “gifts of life” as a morally and spiritually valuable action and a matter for individual agency rather than a state or ecclesiastical mandate. Communal practices surrounding organized blood donation, sacramental rituals of the offering of Christ’s body and blood for human salvation, and scriptural analogies of self-giving to others provide religious motivations for an organized culture of donation regarding organs and tissues.

Embedding changes in legislation for organ and tissue donation across England and Jersey

Cathy Miller, Louise Hubner ( [email protected] ), Sonya Paterson, Bobbee Cotter, Phil Walton, Helen Bentley, and Claire Roberts, of NHS Blood and Transplant