title: What information about donation after circulatory death is available on the Internet for potential donor families?
abstract: The purpose of this study is to determine what information about donation after circulatory death (DCD) is available on the Internet and to document the common statements for and against DCD.
  
  
  
  The search terms non-heart-beating donor, donation after cardiac death, DCD, deceased donor, organ donation, and organ harvesting were entered into the four most-accessed English-language Internet search engines. The top 10 webpages from each search (240 webpages) yielded 116 unique sites. Three reviewers reviewed each webpage and recorded statements for and against DCD as well as site type, tone, and mention of DCD.
  
  
  
  While 59 (50.9%) of the overall 116 sites included DCD information, only 10% of sites found with the term "organ donation" mentioned DCD at all. The sites that did include DCD were mostly (78%) of the type "medical journal" or "hospital or university webpage" and 89% of these had a positive or neutral tone. Nine positive and nine negative tropes were defined using the Grounded Theory Method.
  
  
  
  This study reveals the lack of information regarding DCD in organ donation webpages. Thoughtful responses to these statements should be considered in family discussions and in the design of future webpages.
authors.affiliation: College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada.
authors.forename: Kristin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Black
authors.affiliation: College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada.
authors.forename: Katherine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.affiliation: Saskatchewan Renal Transplant Program, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada.
authors.forename: Gavin
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Beck
authors.affiliation: Saskatchewan Renal Transplant Program, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Moser
mesh_terms: D001926:Brain Death; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D008297:Male; D016377:Organ Transplantation / Q000523:psychology*; D014019:Tissue Donors / Q000523:psychology*; D020858:Tissue and Organ Harvesting / Q000523:psychology*; D009927:Tissue and Organ Procurement / Q000458:organization & administration*; D028761:Withholding Treatment
keywords: Internet; donation after circulatory death; organ donation; transplantation; tropes