Is a good death possible after withdrawal of life-sustaining therapy?

Life-sustaining therapy (LST) is commonly withdrawn in critical care units. Little is known about the families' perceptions of death when a critically ill patient dies after LST is withdrawn. The purpose of this study was to understand if families perceived that their family members had a good or a bad death when a family member had LST withdrawn after an unexpected, life-threatening illness or injury. Twenty-two family members participated in a hermeneutic phenomenological study. They were interviewed 1 to 2 years after a family member had died after withdrawal of LST. Most family members perceived that their loved ones died a good death. Although the timing and circumstances of a person's death may be bad in many ways, the actual dying and death can be good.