Abstract:

Objective The purpose of this study was to investigate the attitudes trend and characteristicsof family members of potential donation after cardiac death（DCD）donors in China. Methods This largest single center cohort study was performed by an interview or by telephone using a questionnaire. The family members of potential DCD donors were recruited from the first affiliated hospital，medical college of Xi'an Jiaotong universitylocated in a metropolitan area of northwest of China. The 12-item attitude questionnaire was specifically developed from the literature review and coordinator，physician，and donor's family feedback. The participants were asked to ratethe queries on a 5-point Likert intensity scale. Results The 174 participants included 56（32.2%）women and 118 （67.8%）men. Most of people were aged between 41 and 50 years old（n ＝ 63，36.2%），31 and 40 years old（n ＝59，33.9%），and less than 30 years old（n ＝ 36，20.7%）. The top five attitudes of participants were the best personto suggest organ donation to a family was ranked as the DCD coordinator of Red Cross Organization（RCO）（n ＝ 160， 92%），donor was a hero（n ＝ 143，82.2%），honor to be a donor's family member（n ＝ 136，78.2%），improvedrelationship with colleagues（n ＝ 124，71.3%），and with recipient after donation（n ＝ 123 70.7%）. The best personto suggest organ donation to a family was ranked as the coordinator of RCO（n ＝ 160，92%），doctor unrelated to transplantation（n ＝ 104，59.8%），social worker（n ＝ 36，20.7%），and doctor related to transplantation（n ＝ 25，14.4%）. The top two reasons for non-consent to donation were the family insisted on intact body after patient death， and did not want to have surgery again（n ＝ 51，41.5%），and feared that they would be misunderstood by neighbors， relatives and friends about donation（n ＝ 28，22.8%）. Conclusion This study revealed initial attitudes towardDCD organ donation in China. Some data afford insight to the decision-making procedure. The concerns of potential DCD donors and their families may help professionals provide better interventions in the future.