Family physicians' role in recruitment of organ donors

To determine if family physicians can increase the commitment of patients to organ donation.

Prospective, systematically randomized, cross-sectional study.

Family practice residency medical center associated with an urban, community-based teaching institution.

A total of 300 patients aged 18 years or older, able to give consent, and being seen for non-life-threatening visits; 247 patients returned valid second questionnaires.

Instruments included 2 self-administered questionnaires. All patients received questionnaire 1 to be completed in the examination room. They also received an informational brochure, a Michigan Secretary of State driver's license sticker (donor sticker) and questionnaire 2. Group 1 received the written materials only. Group 2 received written materials plus a brief verbal discussion by the investigators following a standard protocol. Questionnaire 2 was to be completed and returned after the interventions.

Self-reported completion of donor sticker was used to evaluate commitment to organ donation. Knowledge scores were summed for preintervention and postintervention means.

Thirty-three percent of patients had already committed to organ donation prior to the study. Of those not previously committed, 40% decided to do so after the interventions. There was no statistical difference in the recruitment of donors between the 2 intervention groups. Of new donors identified, 65% stated their decision was due to written materials provided, while 34% attributed this to discussion with a physician. Thirty-five percent of the family members made arrangements to donate their own organs after the discussion with the patient. There was a significant difference between mean pretest and posttest knowledge scores (10 questions; 7.9 vs 9.2; P<.01).

Family physicians can increase the commitment to organ donation through a relatively simple intervention.