Organ donations in hospital services: the principal reasons for authorization refusals

Objective: To analyze the limiting factors for organ and tissue donation for transplantation in a hospital service. Method: documentary study, performed in a hospital in Paraná, Brazil. The “Reports of Deaths and Monthly Donation Monitoring”, from January to December 2016, recorded by the Intra-Hospital Transplant Organ and Tissue Donation Commission, were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results: deaths due to cardiopulmonary arrest prevailed, with the donor opposing the donation in life as a reason for non-authorization. Of the 54 potential donors, 27 (50%) individuals were authorized to donate, resulting in 68 organs/tissues, especially corneas. Conclusion: the reduced understanding of the population that led to the negative authorization of the donation and the fact that deaths from cardiopulmonary arrest made it difficult to capture multiple organs in the face of immediate ischemia were the main limitation of organ donation in the investigated service.