The role of healthcare professionals to improve organ donation and transplantation outcome: a national study

BACKGROUND: Improve the quality of donor coordination activities caused by an increased organ donation rate. The aim of this study was to assess the influence of organ donation coordinators’ characteristics on rate of donation and family consent rate in Recognition Centers (RCs) and Organ Procurement Units (OPUs) in Iran by analyzing the organ procurement and transplantation data. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Based on a questionnaire, this retrospective study evaluated the number of confirmed brain deaths, family consent rate, organ recoveries, rate of expired brain death cases before and after family consent in Iran. RESULTS: According to results, the overall family consent rate in the entire country is equal to 60.63%. The work experience had a significant effect on the number of procured organs (P < 0.004), death rate after family consent (P < 0.04), and eligible donor death before family consent (P < 0.03). The type of unit (RCs or OPUs) had significant difference on death after family consent (P < 0.023), the death before family consent (P < 0.014), the sum of procured organ (P < 0.04). CONCLUSION: The consent rate and donor management in the cases of brain death are unacceptable. The coordinators need training to increase their efficiency in terms of family approach and maintenance of brain death. Only by improving the level of family consent and increasing the coordinators' maintenance skills for brain death cases can the amount of organ donation in Iran be doubled to the current amount.