In organ donation from deceased donors, the interaction between the donor's relatives and intensive care personnel is an important factor. The organ donation (OD) process is complex, and patients' relatives play a vital role. Intensive care professionals need knowledge about how relatives perceive and experience the process to create a caring environment and support them throughout. Therefore, this collaborative project aims to explore both relatives' and intensive care personnel's perspectives of care in deceased organ donation in Scandinavia.

This study aims to (1) investigate donor relatives' satisfaction and ICU personnel's perception of their own professional competence and (2) explore donor relatives' and ICU personnel's experiences in the OD process to design for care and support in OD.

This protocol outlines a Scandinavian (Norway, Sweden, and Denmark) project, including 4 work packages. Work package 1 started in 2023 with the translation and validation of the Family Satisfaction in the Intensive Care Unit questionnaire into a Danish version and the translation of the Professional Competence in Organ Donation Questionnaire into a Swedish and Danish version. A cross-sectional survey measuring Scandinavian relatives' perception of support in and satisfaction with the organ donation process and a cross-sectional survey measuring Scandinavian intensive care personnel's competence in organ donation are the foundation for work package 2 (2024). The data from both surveys will be analyzed using descriptive and comparative analysis. The results will inform the interview guides in qualitative studies (work packages 3 and 4). Participants in the quantitative study will be invited to participate in in-depth interviews. In work package 3, in-depth interviews will be conducted to illuminate relatives' experiences in the organ donation process. The interviews will be analyzed using thematic analysis, according to Braun and Clarke. In work package 4 (2025-2026), 1 qualitative design study will be conducted to illuminate ICU personnel's experiences. Furthermore, the results from work packages 2 and 3 will inform the development of specific programs for care, support, and communication in the organ donation process.

The project was funded by the Norwegian Organ Donor Foundation in 2022 and Scandiatransplant in 2023. The Norwegian Nurses Organisation supports the project by funding a PhD student. The PhD student was employed by the University in Agder in May 2024.

This project will provide new knowledge that will assist us in designing and establishing programs for care, support, and donor relatives' involvement in OD processes.

PRR1-10.2196/55643.

Background Despite clear definitions of brain death, students and medical professionals may have varying understandings. This study investigated the knowledge and attitudes of medical students regarding brain death. Methods A cross-sectional survey was administered to 142 fourth-year medical students at Umm Al-Qura University. The survey used single-choice and Likert scale questions to assess knowledge of brain death definition, diagnosis procedures, and student attitudes. Prior to administration, the questionnaire underwent content validation by experts in medicine, ethics, and public health. Results A significant proportion of students lacked knowledge of the legal definition of brain death in Saudi Arabia (26.1%), brain death diagnostic procedures (43.7%), and prerequisites for declaring brain death (38%). While some students expressed confidence in diagnosing brain death, concerns about misdiagnosis were also present. Conclusion Fourth-year medical students in this study demonstrated significant knowledge gaps regarding brain death. Medical education programs may need to be revised to provide more comprehensive training on brain death and its implications. Additionally, public awareness campaigns could improve understanding and facilitate informed decision-making about organ donation. Further research, including multicenter studies, is warranted to confirm these findings and guide educational interventions.

The procurement process for organ donation begins with the identification of potential organ donors in emergency or critical care units (CCU), followed by their clinical evaluation, diagnostic procedures, and therapeutic interventions, mostly conducted in CCUs. It concludes with the request for organ donation and, if accepted, the retrieval of organs. Despite most interventions occurring in detection units, there has been a neglect of the strategic role played by critical care specialists (CCS) in managing and caring for brain-dead or near-brain-death patients. Questions arise: Are they willing to undertake this responsibility? Do they fully comprehend the nature of organ procurement? Are they aware of the specific interventions required to maintain possible organ donors in optimal physiological condition? Our objective is to examine the role of CCS in organ procurement and propose ways to enhance it, ultimately aiming to increase and enhance organ donation rates.

The lack of donor organs is a major barrier to the advancement of organ transplantation. This study aimed to understand the current status of knowledge, attitudes, and willingness to donate organs among intensive care unit (ICU) health care workers and analyzed the influencing factors to provide a scientific basis for improving the situation of a serious imbalance between the ratio of organ supply and demand.

From November 2021 to March 2022, 160 ICU health care workers from 3 level 3A hospitals in Huzhou City, Zhejiang Province, China were chosen as subjects by the cluster sampling method. A cross-sectional study of the participants was carried out using a general information questionnaire, Organ Donation Knowledge Scale, Organ Donation Attitude Scale, and Organ Donation Willingness Scale. The determinants of ICU health care workers' knowledge, attitudes, and willingness toward organ donation were examined using multiple linear regression analysis.

A total of 150 ICU health care workers completed the survey within the prescribed time, and the recovery rate of this questionnaire was 93.75%. The score on the Organ Donation Knowledge Scale was 7 (5, 7) points, and the full score was 10 points. The score on the Organ Donation Attitude Scale was (3.87 ± 0.93), and the full score was 7. The Organ Donation Willingness Scale score was 2 (2, 3) out of 5. The results of the multiple linear regression analysis revealed that several factors significantly influenced the score of organ donation knowledge. These factors were identified as the professional title and persuasive experience related to organ donation. Additionally, the score of organ donation attitude was found to be influenced primarily by the persuasive experience of organ donation. Furthermore, the score of organ donation willingness was influenced by 3 main factors: marital status, professional title, and persuasive experience in the context of organ donation.

Although the level of ICU health care workers' knowledge and attitudes toward organ donation was above the median level, they still needed to be improved. The current status of ICU health care workers' desire to donate organs is not optimistic; thus, relevant departments should take specific actions to improve the situation.

Studies have shown the possibility of using the part of the foreskin removed after circumcision in the field of scientific and therapeutic research. Donations of tissues and organs are always associated with ethical challenges posed by bioethicists and societies to ensure the appropriate use of these tissues/organs. The purpose of this study was to understand the attitudes and awareness of parents/guardians regarding donation of excised foreskin to research and medical use. The study was based on a questionnaire and included 133 parents/guardians who visited Uhud Children's Hospital in Madinah, Saudi Arabia for newborn male circumcision. The results showed a high willingness (61.7%) to donate the extracted foreskin to research. The willingness to donate the extracted foreskin to research associated with undergraduate degree (P = 0.018), male sex (P = 0.011), high income (P = 0.029), and participation in previous research studies (P = 0.002). About 41.8% were convinced that written informed consent should be obtained before circumcision surgery, 38.1% (n = 51) were convinced that written informed consent should be taken after surgery, while the remaining 19.4% reported that the timing of written informed consent is unimportant. Finally, fear of excision of excess tissue (74.5%), lack of confidence in the research (68.6%), and potential for commercial use (64.7%) were the main barriers to unwillingness to donate the excised foreskin for research. In conclusion, a reasonable portion of Saudis agreed to donate their foreskin for research purposes. There is an urgent need to enhance awareness and attitudes towards tissue donation for research and therapeutic use.

Understanding brain death is essential for progress in organ transplantation; however, it remains a challenging ethical matter. In 2019, Poland revised its legislation on brain death to align with international standards. This study aimed to evaluate the knowledge and worldview concerning brain death among Polish medical students, categorised according to their stage of education.

An online questionnaire was administered to 169 medical students from four Polish medical universities. The participants were divided into preclinical (n = 94) and clinical (n = 75) groups. The questionnaire consisted of two parts, with the first part comprising 13 questions focusing on knowledge about brain death and the process of its determination. The second part contained six questions related to the participants' worldview regarding brain death, particularly concerning organ transplantation.

The average score obtained by the respondents was 7.53 (± 2.35; min. 1, max. 13) in knowledge checking part of the developed questionnaire (maximal score:13). Students in the clinical stage of their education achieved significantly higher scores compared to preclinical students (mean 8.84; ± 1.89 vs mean 6.49; ± 2.15; p < 0.001). Significant correlations were found between the results of the knowledge part of the questionnaire and responses to worldview questions.

The stage of education influenced the knowledge of brain death among medical students, although the overall test scores were unsatisfactory. Higher test scores were associated with worldview responses indicating compliance with the current legislation in Poland and evidence-based medicine.

Quality management tools and models are used to improve processes and products, including those related to organ and tissue donation and transplantation protocols. This study aims to map, discuss, and disseminate models/tools of quality management systems applied in health services, specializing in the donation and/or transplantation of human organs and tissues.

This is an integrative literature review over the last 10 years, operationalized through searches carried out on the PubMed portal and the databases: SciVerse Scopus (SCOPUS), Scielo, Latin American and Caribbean Literature on Health Sciences (LILACS), Nursing Database (BDENF), and the Virtual Health Library (BVS). The organization of search results in the databases and the election of articles compatible with the guiding question and the inclusion and exclusion criteria for this study took place through the online and free application platform Rayyan.

Six hundred seventy-eight records were found, of which, after careful analysis, 18 articles were considered relevant to the theme. We identified 17 quality management models and/or tools that emphasize using scientifically proven and/or validated techniques to reduce or eliminate the possibility of risks in the processes that permeate the stages of donation and transplantation of organs and tissues.

This review brought the possible tools used and published, which can be perceived, reproduced, and improved, through the role of the multidisciplinary team in specialized centers for the donation and transplantation of human organs and tissues, aiming to offer a process of continuous improvement management to deliver better products and services.

In Brazil, family refusal to donate organs and tissues is the main reason for not performing transplants, making it necessary to implement different educational strategies in diverse populations on this topic. Thus, this study aimed to raise awareness among school-aged adolescents about the method of organ and tissue donation and transplantation.

This is a descriptive experience report with a quantitative and qualitative approach to educational actions in the school environment, mediated by the action research method, carried out with 936 students aged between 14 and 18 years from public schools in the interior of Sao Paulo, Brazil. These actions were developed according to the themes identified and worked on through the culture circle, using active methodologies. Two semistructured questionnaires were applied, pre- and postinterventions. For analysis, sample normality tests and Student's t test were used (P < .0001).

The topics identified were as follows: clarifications on the legislative history of donation and transplants; diagnosis of brain and circulatory death; bioethical aspects of transplants; reflections on mourning, death, and dying; maintenance and notification of the potential donor; types of viable organs and tissues for donation; and the process from collection to transplantation, among others. Comparative analysis showed statistical differences between pre- and postinterventions.

Educational interventions through active methodologies are presented as tools capable of making students aware of organ and tissue donation and transplantation.