Effects of Organ Donation on Family & Health Care Professionals

Organ donation can be a difficult topic for health care workers to broach, and a difficult topic for family members to understand. Health care workers may feel awkward and uncertain when they approach a family member about donation. As for the family, the decision to donate a loved one's organs is often accompanied by shock and grief. Reactions after a donation can vary widely, depending on several factors.

Family Reaction: Peace

• In a study performed by the Vancouver General Hospital in British Columbia, Canada, families who had agreed to donate the organs of a deceased loved one were contacted a few years later and asked how they currently felt about their decisions. Over 97 percent stated that they had no regrets. Many referred to giving the gift of life and believing that because of the donation, their loved ones' existences continued on in some way.

Family Reaction: Confusion

• The Vancouver study also found that almost half the families expressed confusion about the concept of brain death and whether or not their loved one was really dead when his or her organs were taken. This confusion occurs because people who are brain dead can have their heartbeat and breathing sustained for a short time on full life support. To friends and family, they may seem "alive," but according to Organ Transplants, brain death occurs when there is a complete and permanent loss of brain function. Brain death is carefully determined by a series of rigorous medical tests and meets both the medical and legal criteria for death.

Family Reaction: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

• A minority of people who decided to donate their loved one's organs experienced symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder. This was most common if they had felt pressured to donate, didn't understand that their loved one was really dead, or felt disrespected.

Health Care Workers: Anxiety

• Health care workers may feel anxious and awkward when it comes time to broach the topic of organ donation. This anxiety can be eased in a few ways. First, the family should be told of the diagnosis of brain death and allowed to grieve that loss before they are approached about organ donation. Second, front line health care workers should always be accompanied by a representative of the nearest organ procurement organization (OPO) when the donation request is made.

Health Care Workers: Increase in Job Satisfaction

• Helping a family member reach the decision to save other lives by donating the organs or tissues of a deceased loved one can be a very rewarding experience for health care workers. Protocols guiding the request for organ donation, a clear understanding of brain death and the organ donation process, the involvement of an OPO representative and support from co-workers and supervisors all seem to be components of creating a positive experience for health care workers.