Quality indicators for deceased organ and tissue donation for transplantation: a scoping review protocol

The global shortage of organs and tissues highlights the need to strengthen and monitor the quality of deceased donor programs. Evaluating each stage of this process using quality-sensitive indicators is essential to ensure transparency, efficiency, safety, and effectiveness. However, there is still no consensus on which indicators best reflect the quality of organ and tissue donation processes, highlighting the need to map and analyze existing evidence. The aim of this study was to map and analyze international literature on indicators for monitoring the quality of the process of deceased organ and tissue donation for transplantation.

This review will be conducted following the methodology proposed by the JBI and guidelines for scope reviews. The databases, portals, and directories to be searched included MEDLINE (via PubMed), CINAHL (EBSCO), Embase (Elsevier), Scopus (Elsevier), Web of Science (Clarivate Analytics), Business Source Complete (EBSCO), VHL Virtual Health Library; gray literature will be sought on Google Scholar, OpenGrey (GreyNet), CAPES Theses and Dissertations, Global ETD Search (formerly the Union Catalog), Open Access Theses and Dissertations, and websites of organ and tissue donation and transplant organizations. Studies in any language and published after 1980 will be considered for inclusion. A wide range of study designs will be included, encompassing quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods research, as well as relevant gray literature on organ and tissue donation and transplantation. Two reviewers will screen the studies, paying attention to the eligibility criteria. The data will be extracted by means of specific variables and presented in categories according to the evaluative triad structure, process, and result, and by the pillars of quality proposed by Avedis Donabedian in the form of diagrams, tables, charts, and narrative synthesis.

The evidence on quality indicators for organ and tissue donation processes is conceptually diverse. This scoping review will provide an overview of existing studies, identify gaps in current knowledge, and guide future research on the development and validation of quality indicators.

Open Science Framework osf.io/ymuvj/.