Enhancing the health professional's role in requesting transplant organs

The shortfall in organs for transplant continues in the UK. To address this problem, methods of organ procurement are continuously widening with the recent development of protocols in elective ventilation and non-heart beating donors. Until recently, the nurse's role in the success of organ procurement was largely limited to those working in intensive care units involved in cadaveric transplant and community-based nurses working with patients on kidney dialysis who may become involved with live related transplant. Involvement in organ procurement has now extended to nurses working in general wards and accident and emergency centres. It is imperative that health professionals are aware of the large numbers of patients for whom donors have not been found. They need to be aware of the possible reasons which deter relatives from giving consent for potential donors and prevent relatives themselves from becoming potential live donors. Those who are involved in the organ request process need to be alerted to the factors that affect the decision to give consent. It is hoped that these efforts will help to reduce the drastic shortage of available organs for transplant in the UK.