Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 7, 2026

Lung Rapid Recovery Procurement Combined with Abdominal Normothermic Regional Perfusion in Controlled Donation after Circulatory Death
Published on: August 15, 2022
What to do when the family cannot agree to withdraw life support
Yolanda M Hyde1, Donald D Kautz, Marian Jordan
1Yolanda M. Hyde, PhD, RN, BC, OCN, is an assistant professor of nursing at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Donald D. Kautz, PhD, RN, CRRN, CNE, is an associate professor of nursing at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro Marian Jordan, MSN, RN, is the Director of Nursing at Autumn Care of Raeford, North Carolina, and a Clinical Nurse Educator at Fayetteville Technical Community College, Fayetteville, North Carolina.
Abstract:
This article describes a family who could not agree to withdraw life support from a ventilator-dependent woman who was unresponsive and whose death was inevitable. Evidence-based recommendations are given and resources identified to assist critical care nurses to facilitate discussions among family members who disagree about end-of-life care and to help nurses discuss end-of-life orders, address cultural issues, manage family conflict, assist families to make decisions, and act with moral courage and ethical humility when supporting families and each other during withdrawal of life support.
Related Concept Videos
Ethical Dilemmas II
Ethical Issues
Ethical Concerns in Healthcare:
Ethical Dilemmas I
Let us explore some examples to understand the potentially complex moral decisions nurses face.
Take the case of caring for minors, particularly in areas related to reproductive...
Nursing Ethical Principles II
Consider the following scenario, which illustrates how these principles are applied in the care of Mr. John, a fifty-year-old teacher diagnosed with metastatic liver cancer.
Initially, Mr. John's...
Continuing Care
Heart Failure VI: Adjunct Therapies

