Family, friends, and faith: how organ donor families heal.

CONTEXT

Understanding how organ donors' families recover from their grief can help organ procurement organizations improve consent rates and increase the number of deceased donor organs available for transplant.

OBJECTIVE

To determine what helps the loved ones of deceased organ donors heal from their grief and loss, and to better understand families' needs during the consent process as a way of improving overall consent rates for organ donation.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Written survey of all organ and tissue donors' families in the San Diego and Imperial County (California) service area during 2006 and 2007.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Responses to the 20-question survey addressing factors that help healing from grief, as well as contextual information about the families' experience at the hospital and the consent process.

RESULTS

Most respondents (84%) indicated that family support was the most helpful thing in dealing with their grief, followed by the support of friends (74%) and religious and cultural beliefs (37%). Most (75%) indicated that they agreed to donation so that something positive could result from their loss. Most respondents (93%) felt that they were given enough information to make an informed decision about donation, and 6% indicated that the donation process interfered with funeral or memorial arrangements. More than 95% understood that their loved one had died before they were approached for consent. Consistent with previous studies, 12% said they still had unanswered questions about aspects of donation, and 15% of respondents indicated that the discussion about organ donation added more emotional stress to their overall experience.