Hospital Characteristics and Nursing Attitude toward Organ Donation

In our organ procurement unit, based on empirical evidence, the chance of turning a potential donor into an actual one is less than 30 percent and nursing plays a crucial role in this regard.

We aimed to clarify nursing viewpoints and probe limitations that affect the organ donation process.

In this cross-sectional study, a self-constructed 28-item questionnaire including information regarding hospital characteristics, nursing attitudes, and level of knowledge was prepared. Our study population was all nurses who consented to fill in the questionnaire using the Quota sampling method. After content validity, the questionnaire was circulated in cyberspace and the nursing society was invited to complete it. After onemonth, the response rate was 46 percent andthe completed forms were analyzed.

The majority of participants had not attended any organ donation training program (67%). Also, only 30% of nurses were aware of their crucial role in the donation process. In total, 61.7% of the participants had a high level of knowledge regarding brain death definition and donor maintenance. A positive attitude was observed in 59.1% of nurses with a significant difference in the high record of services(p=0.04).It was also, significantly higher in whom with the experience of working in private hospital (64% vs. 54%, p=0.05); hospitals with neurosurgery-ward (67.7% vs. 54.7%, p=0.01), transplant ward (67.4% vs. 54.9%, p=0.03). Attending training programs had a considerable impact (67.7% vs. 50.8%, p=0.03) but, being in ICU didn't affect nursing attitudes.

Hospital characteristics affect the nursing attitude toward organ donation and transplantation. It is recommended that all health staff obtain appropriate working experience in transplantation wards of the hospitals.