Refusal to donate after brain death

Quality control of the donation process with the use of appropriate validated indicators is fundamental to detect criticalities and plan corrective measures. We report the results of a retrospective study on the quality of interviews with brain-dead donor (BDD) families to obtain consent for organ and tissue donation. Between January 2001 and December 2009, we performed 260 interviews to explore willingness of BDD family members for organ and/or tissue donation. Refusal of donation occurred in 26.5% (69/260) of cases with no significant difference according to the type of intensive care unit or the cause of death. However, the analysis revealed a reduction in refusal rates over the study period from 46.4% in 2001 to 19.5% in 2009. Based on our study, the presence of experienced, committed health care personnel is necessary to reduce refusal rates and increase the available organ donor pool.