title: Causes of family refusal for organ donation.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Family refusal represents a barrier for organ donation together with other cultural and religious factors possible ignorance and clinical obstacles.
  
  
  METHODS
  We performed this retrospective study by phone employing our organ procurement unit database, using a list of families of potential organ donors who had refused organ donation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In 2009, 146 potential organ donor families refused donation. We contacted 81 families. The main reason expressed by there families to justify the refusal to donate the deceased's organs was denial and rejection of brain-death criteria (44.4%). Other causes were believing in a miracle (13.6%); fear about organ trade and unknown organ destination (9.9%); religious beliefs (8.6%); insecutrity about the brain-death diagnosis (6.2%); unstable family mood (6.2%); unknown donor wishes about donation (4.9%); belief in body integrity after death (3.7%); and fear of objection by other family members (2.5%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings showed several reasons for family refusal for organ donation; among the main cause is poor acceptance of brain death. It seems that increasing the knowledge of people about brain death and organizing strategies to confirm brain death for families are necessary to meet the organ shortage.
authors: Lung Transplantation Research Center, National Research Institute of TB and Lung Disease, Masih Daneshvari Hospital, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors: F
authors: F
authors: Ghorbani
authors: H R
authors: HR
authors: Khoddami-Vishteh
authors: O
authors: O
authors: Ghobadi
authors: S
authors: S
authors: Shafaghi
authors: A Rostami
authors: AR
authors: Louyeh
authors: K
authors: K
authors: Najafizadeh
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001293:Attitude to Death; D001926:Brain Death; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D045808:Refusal to Participate; D012067:Religion; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014019:Tissue Donors; D009927:Tissue and Organ Procurement / Q000379:methods*