An Analysis of Critical Care Staff's Attitudes to Donation in a Country with Presumed-Consent Legislation

Context Lack of knowledge and confidence among critical care staff in identifying potential donors and communicating with donor families may explain missed organ and tissue donations. Objectives To elucidate attitudes of critical care staff toward donation and their knowledge, involvement, and self-reported skills and confidence levels with donation-related tasks. Methods Between January 2004 and May 2006, Donor Action Foundation's Hospital Attitude Survey was used to collect data from staff members in critical care units in our university hospital (study group) and 2 other Belgian university hospitals (control group). In total, 92 physicians, 433 nurses, and 26 other staff members participated. Results The 2 groups did not differ significantly with regard to donation-related attitudes. The study group had a significantly lower perception of the public's approval of organ donation than did the control group (P