HEALTH-CARE PROFESSIONAL ATTITUDES TOWARD DONATION - EFFECT ON PRACTICE AND PROCUREMENT

Failure to procure organs, tissues, and corneas for transplantation ca n be attributed to a number of factors. The existing literature is lar gely speculative concerning why health care professionals (HCPs) fail to approach the families of medically suitable donors and why requests for donation are not successful. This study is based on the direct ex amination of 1,797 HCP attitudes and knowledge about donation in conju nction with how HCPs performed when faced with a donor-eligible patien t. HCP attitudes, rather than knowledge, are more important to the suc cessful procurement of organs. The HCPs, with more positive attitudes about donation and their role in the procurement process were more lik ely to request donation. HCPs were more successful in obtaining consen t to donation when they believed that the donation process would benef it the donor family and that their efforts to procure organs would be successful, These results indicate that educating HCPs about the donat ion process to make them more comfortable with it is crucial.