Results of a Questionnaire on How to Support Families of Emergency Patients to Make Organ-Donation Decisions by Proxy

In emergency cases, the family members must decide whether or not to donate the patient\u27s organs. This study sought to identify factors that could help medical staff support family members during the decision-making process. Surveys about organ donation and emergency patients were distributed to family members of patients at the tertiary emergency outpatient clinic of a university hospital for one year, from October 2014. Family members completed the forms immediately after arrival at the clinic. Nursing records from the same clinic were also examined during the study period using qualitative and inductive analyses. The survey results were analyzed by statistical analysis to determine attitudes towards organ donation. In total, 1,548 survey forms were collected. Only 59 respondents (3.8%) were aware that patients had indicated their wish to donate their organs on their donor cards, driver\u27s licenses, or other means. Family members who recognized that patients were willing to donate their organs were more likely to request an interview with the organ transport coordinator (P<0.01). Qualitative consideration of the nursing records showed that family members were more likely to agree to donate patients\u27 organs if they were aware that “the patients themselves had clearly indicated their wishes”. Overall, we found that a family\u27s decision to donate a patient\u27s organs is influenced by whether they recognized the patient\u27s wishes