title: Parental experiences and recommendations in donation after circulatory determination of death*.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe parents' experience of organ donation decision making in the case of donation after circulatory determination of death.
  
  
  METHODS
  Qualitative exploratory analysis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants were recruited from the ICU of a single children's hospital located in the western United States.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirteen parents, 11 families who consented to donate their child's organs.
  
  
  METHODS
  Interviews (average 82 min).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Transcribed interviews were analyzed using the constant comparative method to identify themes that reflected similarities in parents' experiences. The themes we found included 1) factors contributing to parental decision making, 2) under the circumstances of the child dying, and 3) donation decision and its impact on parental grief. Factors that influenced the decision making all related to the child dying, including protecting the child's body and helping the child to die peacefully. Finally, parents made recommendations about the organ donation process, including empathy, attend to end-of-life concerns, and the provision of relevant information for donation decisions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Parents' decision making was related directly to end-of-life experience and grief process. Providers need to orient to parents' end-of-life concerns to support parents' decision-making process and improve donation after circulatory determination of death procedures.
authors: 1Department of Educational Psychology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT. 2Department of Pediatrics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT. 3Pittsburgh, PA.
authors: Stephanie M
authors: SM
authors: Hoover
authors: Susan L
authors: SL
authors: Bratton
authors: Elizabeth
authors: E
authors: Roach
authors: Lenora M
authors: LM
authors: Olson
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003657:Decision Making; D005260:Female; D006117:Grief; D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D015278:Intensive Care Units, Pediatric; D008020:Life Support Care; D008297:Male; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D036301:Qualitative Research; D009927:Tissue and Organ Procurement; D014481:United States