title: How critical care nurses' roles and education affect organ donation.
abstract: Organ and tissue dysfunction and failure cause high mortality rates around the world. Tissue and organs transplantation is an established, cost-effective, life-saving treatment for patients with organ failure. However, there is a large gap between the need for and the supply of donor organs. Acute and critical care nurses have a central role in the organ donation process, from identifying and assessing potential donors and supporting their families to involvement in logistics. Nurses with an in-depth knowledge of donation understand its clinical and technical aspects as well as the moral and legal considerations. Nurses have a major role to play in tackling organ and tissue shortages. Such a role cannot be adequately performed if nurses are not fully educated about donation and transplant. Such education could be incorporated into mandatory training and completed by all nurses.
authors.affiliation: Registered Nurse, Theatre Department, Royal Hospital, Belfast Health and Social Care Trust.
authors.forename: Oluwafunmilayo Ololade
authors.initials: OO
authors.lastname: Jawoniyi
authors.affiliation: Senior Lecturer School of Nursing & Midwifery, Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland.
authors.forename: Kevin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Gormley
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003422:Critical Care; D006801:Humans; D024802:Nurse's Role; D009726:Nurses / Q000523:psychology*; D009927:Tissue and Organ Procurement
keywords: Critical care; Donation and transplantation; Mandatory training