604 – Experience of the Family of the Brain Dead Concerning the Influential Factors on Organ Donation (A Qualitative Study)

Abstract

Background:

Brain-dead patients are considered as the most important supply source for patients in need of organ donation, and the decision making regarding donation primarily takes place by the families.

Method:

The phenomenology study was conducted via interviews with no predetermined and deep questions (unstructured). The data were analyzed through a phenomenological - descriptive analysis method according to Colaizzi's 9 step process.

Findings:

Seven male and six female subjects participated in the study. The findings were categorized into the three concepts of ‘fear and worry’, ‘unknowns’, and ‘growth and sublimation’. One of the main agents of decision making in ‘unknowns’ subcategory was lack of awareness. In the ‘fear and worry’ subcategory, subjects suffered fear and worry from the looks of the body of the deceased subsequent to donation, and some believed that the body should be intact when being buried. Comments of distant relatives and bystanders were another source of worry in the families as to the possibility of the braindead patient's recovery. As for ‘growth and sublimation’, spirituality and the feeling of spiritual recompense and reward in return for helping others, among many, was the main factor.

Conclusion:

The disparate experiences of families necessitate proper support in critical situations.They require assistance to become aware of unknowns of their minds and better understanding of organ donation process, and to reduce the influence of undesirable interfering thoughts and factors in the way of accepting this calamity and, as a result, the donation decision be made with more confidence and assurance.