Improving access to organ donor registration in general practice: a feasibility study

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Healthcare Management
• Organ Donation Research

Background:

• Organ donor registration is crucial for guiding family decisions.
• UK general practice allows registration only for new patients.
• An intervention was developed to offer registration to existing patients.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the feasibility of implementing an organ donation registration intervention in UK general practice.
• To assess the acceptability of this intervention among staff and patients.

Main Methods:

• A 3-month feasibility study in a large UK general practice.
• Staff training on prompting organ donor registration during consultations.
• Data collection via questionnaires, surveys, and focus groups.

Main Results:

• 12.4% of consultations involved asking patients about organ donor registration.
• 30% of prompted patients joined the NHS Organ Donor Register.
• Nurses and healthcare assistants were more likely to prompt than doctors; certain clinics were more conducive.

Conclusions:

• The organ donation intervention demonstrated feasibility and acceptability.
• Feasibility criteria were met, supporting progression to further trials.
• The intervention shows potential for increasing organ donor registration in primary care settings.