Is the education of nursing staff in the intensive care unit a factor in their intention to advocate organ donation? A qualitative research proposal

Organ failure both in the UK and internationally is associated with high mortality rates, (Schmidt et al (2005); Umegaki, Ikai and Imanaka (2011); Kallur et al (2014)) which can be due to either single or multi-organ failure (Jawoniyi and Gormley, 2015). Due to improvements in medical sciences the number of successful organ transplants has increased significantly on a global level in the last twenty-five years (Hoy, Alexander and Frith, 2011). Organ donation is defined by NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) (2016), as consenting to the removal of organs either as a living donor or following death to enhance or save the life of another individual. There are three types of organ donation offered by the NHSBT service, these are: following brain stem death after a severe brain injury, where there is no further potential for regaining consciousness or breathing independently again, circulatory death which follows cardiac arrest or the irreversible loss of function of the heart and lungs, or planned withdrawal of treatment within an intensive care unit (ICU) or Emergency Department, living donation involve the donation of organs such as the kidneys, small sections of the liver or part of bones which would otherwise be discarded following knee or hip replacement as well as donation of the placenta following birth (NHSBT, 2016). The issue of consent for organ donation must be addressed prior to the removal of organs and therefore the organ donor register is available for the decision to donate organs to be communicated to the NHSBT team, consent can also be gained from the patient following their own discussion with a friend or relative prior to hospital admission about the individual’s wishes to donate, this may then be communicated to the team caring for the patient in the emergency setting