Perspectives toward brain death diagnosis and management of the potential organ donor

Background:Organ donation and transplantation represent one of the most important scientific advances over the last decades. Due to the complexity of these procedures and related ethical–legal aspects, however, there are a lot of doubts and uncertainty about the brain death diagnosis and the maintenance of potential organ donor.Aim:To identify and discuss the different meanings and experiences of registered nurses and physicians from an adult intensive care unit in relation to the diagnosis of brain death and the maintenance of potential organ donors for transplantation purposes.Study Design:Participants were registered nurses and physicians from an adult intensive care unit at a University Hospital from Brazil. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using content analysis.Ethical considerations:This study was approved by the University of Sao Paulo at Ribeirao Preto College of Nursing Research Ethics Committee.Results:Two main categories emerged from the analysis: (1) brain d...