Calling all primary care practitioners: promoting organ and tissue donation

Calling All Primary Care Practitioners: Promoting Organ and Tissue Donation

A little over two years ago, I was fortunate enough to act as a living liver donor to an 11-month old infant in need of a transplant. While I have always been a firm believer in organ and tissue donation, the process of becoming a donor myself truly opened my eyes to the dire need for improvement within the realm of organ and tissue donation in Canada. In the time since, I have been able to res...

Organ and tissue donation and transplantation.

People requiring organ transplants are usually very ill or dying because their own organ is failing. They range from young babies and children through to older people. Some need transplants because they are born with a physical problem or a disease that causes organ failure. Others may have contracted a disease or acquired an injury. Organ transplants can save lives. People needing tissue trans...

Critical Care Nurses’ Attitudes Towards Organ Donation and its Relationship With Empathy

Background: Critical care nurses play an important role in the organ donation process, and their attitudes towards it and willingness to register as an organ donor are related to various factors, including empathy. Objective: This study aims to compare the attitudes of nurses in Intensive Care Unit (ICU), Emergency Department (ED), and Dialysis Unit (DU) towards organ donation and its relation...

Questions and answers about organ and tissue donation.

Should my age or health condition influence my decision to become an organ and tissue donor? No. While medical history and age are factors, most people CAN donate. Medical history and age factors are assessed for donation potential at the time of the individual’s death. People are strongly encouraged not to “rule themselves out” because they think their organs, tissue and eyes wouldn’t be suita...

Tacitly opting out of organ donation: too presumptuous after all?