Attitudes to end-of-life issues and organ and tissue donation amongst medical staff: A single-centre survey

Objective: Limited information is available on knowledge and attitudes of Australian health care workers on end-of-life issues including organ and tissue donation. We surveyed medical staff in a single Victorian metropolitan teaching hospital regarding their attitudes towards organ and tissue donation within the context of end-of-life care. Method: A written survey was distributed to a cross-section of medical staff at various educational forums within Peninsula Health. Information collected included current level of responsibility in the organisation, duration of experience as medical professionals, current exposure to patients potentially needing end-of-life care and experience in communicating end-of-life issues with patients and surrogates. Priorities in determination of decisions regarding end-of-life care were assessed and information was collected regarding prior training and experience in discussing organ and tissue donation in the context of end-of-life care. Results: Of 97 respondents, 78.6% were doctors with less than three years of clinical experience, 49.5% reported no previous education on end-of-life care issues and 49.5% reported no prior education on organ and tissue donation. Despite an appropriate matrix of rationales forming the basis for limitation or cessation of therapies, 32.65% would not routinely discuss organ and tissue donation with dying patients or their surrogate decision makers. Conclusion: Our survey revealed a lack of training in decision making and communication regarding end-of-life care issues. It highlighted the negative impact of not normalising donation conversations into routine end of life care discussions.