The Instability of Organ Donation Decisions by Next‐of‐Kin and Factors That Predict It

We examined the instability of organ donation decisions made by next‐of‐kin and factors that predict whether nondonors wish they had consented to donation. Next‐of‐kin of donor‐eligible individuals from one organ procurement organization participated in a semistructured telephone interview. Participants were asked if they would make the same decision if they had to make it again today. Of the 147 next‐of‐kin donors, 138 (94%) would make the same decision again, 6 (4%) would not consent to donation and 3 (2%) were unsure. Of the 138 next‐of‐kin nondonors, 89 (64%) would make the same decision again, 37 (27%) would consent to donation and 12 (9%) were unsure. Regret among nondonors was more likely when the next‐of‐kin had more favorable transplant attitudes (OR = 1.76, CI = 1.15, 2.69), had the first donation discussion with a non‐OPO professional (OR = 0.21, CI = 0.13, 0.65), were not told of their loved one's death before this discussion (OR = 0.23, CI = 0.10, 0.50), did not feel they were given enough time to make the decision (OR = 0.25, CI = 0.11, 0.55), had not discussed donation with family members (OR = 0.30, CI = 0.13, 0.72) and had not heard a public service announcement about organ donation (OR = 0.29, CI = 0.13, 0.67). Organ procurement organizations (OPOs) should consider targeting these variables in educational campaigns and donation request approaches.