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Background Organ procurement following death by neurological criteria can pose ethical challenges for transplant teams, yet the lived experiences of these professionals – particularly nurses – remain poorly understood, especially where donation rates are low. Research question/aim/objectives To explore ethical issues experienced by transplant team members during deceased donor organ procurement and examine coping strategies for morally and emotionally challenging experiences, with attention to nurses’ front-line perspectives. Research design Reflexive thematic analysis (Braun (2) The Weight of Witness (12/15) – accumulated emotional burden, particularly among nurses; (3) The Brain Death Paradox (11/15) – persistent uncertainty about brain death as death; (4) Time Pressure versus Certainty (9/15) – tension between organ viability and diagnostic thoroughness; (5) Institutional Abandonment (7/15) – perceived lack of formal support. Nurses described distinctive experiences shaped by continuous bedside presence and relational proximity to families. Conclusions Ethical challenges of procurement after brain death persist across experience levels and are inadequately supported by current institutional structures. For nurses and other front-line clinicians, recognising and supporting this moral labour is essential to sustaining ethical transplant practice.
Nikolić et al. (Thu,) studied this question.