• James R Rodrigue, Danielle L Cornell, and Richard J Howard.
• Transplant Center, Department of Psychiatry, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA. jrrodrig@bidmc.harvard.edu
• Pediatr Crit Care Me. 2008 Mar 1;9(2):180-5.

ObjectiveTo identify factors that influence parents' decisions when asked to donate a deceased child's organs.DesignCross-sectional design with data collection via structured telephone interviews.SettingOne organ procurement organization in the Southeastern United States.ParticipantsSeventy-four parents (49 donors, 25 nondonors) of donor-eligible deceased children who were previously approached by coordinators from one organ procurement organization in the southeastern United States.InterventionsNone.Measurements And Main ResultsMultivariate analyses showed that organ donation was more likely when the parent was a registered organ donor (odds ratio [OR] = 1.4, confidence interval [CI] = 1.1, 2.7), the parent had favorable organ donation beliefs (OR = 5.5, CI = 2.7, 12.3), the parent was exposed to organ donation information before the child's death (OR = 2.6, CI = 1.7, 10.3), a member of the child's healthcare team first mentioned organ donation (OR = 1.4, CI = 1.2, 3.7), the requestor was perceived as sensitive to the family's needs (OR = 0.4, CI = 0.2, 0.7), the family had sufficient time to discuss donation (OR = 5.2, CI = 1.4, 11.6), and family members were in agreement about donation (OR = 2.8, CI = 1.3, 5.2).ConclusionsThis study identifies several modifiable variables that influence the donation decision-making process for parents. Strategies to facilitate targeted organ donation education and higher consent rates are discussed.

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