Organ Procurement Organization Donation Requestors Describe Barriers to Pediatric Organ Donation

OBJECTIVES: Organ procurement organization (OPO) donation requestor staff approach grieving families to discuss donating organs from their loved ones. We have carried out a qualitative study to explore the barriers that OPO donation requestor staff face in accessing pediatric families and requesting consent. DESIGN AND PARTICIPANTS: Qualitative methods using structured interviews ( n = 31) and focus groups ( n = 33 participants) with donation requestor OPO personnel. SETTING: Phone interviews were conducted from November 2022 to January 2023, and focus groups were held at an August 2023 conference for donation and transplant professionals. SUBJECTS: 64 donation requestor OPO personnel. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Content analysis was used to code transcribed responses. Participants described a lack of access to pediatric families and portrayed clinical care teams as sometimes protective of the family or even preventing OPO staff from talking with the family. Participants shared potential solutions to overcome barriers, including fostering teamwork between clinical care teams and OPO staff and developing bridging language for clinicians to use when introducing donation requestors. CONCLUSIONS: Donation requestors face unique challenges when approaching grieving pediatric families, and more multidisciplinary work is needed to improve communication.