• Claudia H Marck, George A Jelinek, Sandra L Neate, Bernadine M Dwyer, Bernadette B Hickey, and Tracey J Weiland.
• Emergency Practice Innovation Centre, St. Vincent's Hospital Melbourne, 35 Victoria Parade, Fitzroy, VIC. 3065, Australia. claudia.marck@svhm.org.au
• Aust Health Rev. 2013 Feb 1;37(1):60-5.

ObjectiveTo explore emergency department clinicians' perceived resource barriers to facilitating organ and tissue donation (OTD).MethodsA cross-sectional national online survey of Australian emergency department (ED) clinicians.ResultsED clinicians reported a range of resource barriers that hinder the facilitation of OTD, most notably a lack of time to discuss OTD with a patient's family (74.6%). Those reporting more resource barriers had been less involved in OTD-related tasks. For example, those reporting a lack of time to assess a patient's suitability to be a potential donor had less experience with OTD-related tasks in the last calendar year than did those who reported that they often or always have enough time for this (P<0.01). In addition, ED clinicians working in DonateLife network hospitals were more involved in OTD-related tasks (P<0.01) and reported fewer resource shortages in the ED and the hospital overall.ConclusionsResource shortages hinder the facilitation of OTD in the ED and are related to decreased involvement in OTD-related tasks. In addition, ED clinicians working in DonateLife hospitals are more involved in OTD-related tasks and report fewer resource shortages overall. Addressing resource shortages and extending the DonateLife network could benefit OTD rates initiated from the ED.

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