BMJ 1995;310:1149-1150 (6 May)

Editorials

Organ transplantation: approaching the donor's family

Train doctors to approach families sensitively

In 1993, 2970 patients in need of organs were added to the list of those awaiting transplantation.1 These included 1819 patients awaiting kidneys. While these waiting lists lengthen, however, the availability of donors continues to fall. There is therefore an urgent need to increase the number of donors for organ transplantation.2 3 4

To achieve this end a variety of different strategies has been suggested. For example, some European countries, such as Austria, have legislation that permits doctors to remove the organs of potential cadaveric donors unless they have previously registered their wish to the contrary.5 The introduction of such legislation in the United Kingdom is advocated by the British Kidney Patients' Association. In certain states in the United States doctors are required to approach relatives of potential donors who are brainstem dead. In the United Kingdom the government has recently set up a transplant register . . . [Full text of this article]


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This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Daly, B. J. (2006). End-of-Life Decision Making, Organ Donation, and Critical Care Nurses. Crit Care Nurse 26: 78-86 [Full text]  
  • Hauptman, P. J., O'Connor, K. J. (1997). Procurement and Allocation of Solid Organs for Transplantation. NEJM 336: 422-431 [Full text]  
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