The experience of perioperative nurses involved in organ procurement

In the organ transplant process, the perioperative nurse plays an important role in assisting with organ procurement, during which they are frequently required to witness the death of donors. Their experiences and feelings regarding such are largely hidden and little discussed.

The purpose of this study was to understand the experience, feelings, and self-care strategies of perioperative nurses during the course of organ procurement.

This study adopted a qualitative method, using purposeful sampling methods and a semiconstructed outline to conduct face-to-face interviews with six perioperative nurses from an organ procurement organization located in northern Taiwan. Collected data were analyzed using content analysis.

Results were categorized into two distinct parts. The first described the organ procurement experience, with described feelings including a journey begins with learning, feelings of slaughter and doubts about death, and death is a new beginning. The second described ideas of self-care, with described ideas including facing problems, thinking and adjusting, engaging in leisure activities, holding religious beliefs, separating work from private time, continuing self-training, and sharing.

This study indicates that witnessing donor deaths makes perioperative nurses feel uncomfortable and even induces trauma. Better understanding the effects of the organ donation process on all related staff and how to facilitate their self-care will be important parts of the next step in helping perioperative nurses better cope with their work environment and become better equipped to balance professional and psychological needs.