Surveying donor families: a comparison of two organ procurement organizations

The primary purpose of this study was to identify variables that affect cadaveric donor family satisfaction with the donation process and coping with grief. A secondary purpose was to describe the variation of respondents from two different donor populations to establish whether donor families in one geographic region differ from donor families in another. A survey was mailed to 233 families over a 16-month period. Data analysis of returned surveys was based on frequency distributions, measures of association and factor analysis. Identical items in the Regional Organ Bank of Illinois (ROBI) Survey and the Hartford Transplant Center (HOPO) Survey were compared and tested for significance. Eighty-nine percent of the donor families understood what "brain death" meant, and 85% felt that the donation request was appropriate when it was made less than 6 hours after a diagnosis of brain death. Family members provided the most helpful information about donation to other family members 65% of the time. The two most important reasons for donation were "to make something positive come out of the death" and "family member's belief in helping others". These responses also ranked highest in the HOPO survey. The support of family, friends and religion were the most frequent coping mechanisms for grief. In comparing responses from ROBI and HOPO, significant differences were found on two items relating to agency procedure, but no significant differences were found when family responses were compared. Factors were identified which predicted the desire to donate, the likelihood of increased stress and a "sharing" factor that related to the wishes of the family member and further participation with the organ procurement organization.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)