A Practical Israeli Strategy for Appealing for Organ Donation

Abstract

Context Most reports on organ donation have been related to the importance of support for families, explanations of brain death, and the appeal for organ donation. In contrast, no reports have addressed organ donation from the perspective of intervention in cases of “sudden mourning” and the practical aspects of how to facilitate donation in such cases. Objective To develop a specific strategy for professional intervention in cases of imminent death to bring the family to a state of cognitive and emotional preparedness that will enable them to accept the tragic news, donate organs, and then take leave of the deceased. Method The strategy presented here was developed on the basis of the records of donor coordinators who documented their interaction with families; consultations with professionals in the fields of marketing, persuasion, and negotiating; research conducted on families who did or did not donate organs; and statements made by family members of donors in focus and support groups in more than 10 years. Results The strategic approach includes early-stage rules such as staff self-awareness, and then later, critical stages of the process that take place before and at the time of determination of brain death: preparation for and the notification of death itself and the request for organ donation, including persuasion skills, coping with resistance and expressions of anger, and physical leave-taking from the decease. Conclusions The flexible, strategic approach set out here is designed to maximize the chances of procuring organ donation while protecting the family's rights and welfare.