Last update:
13-Jul-2004

The rapid growth in medical technology and science has confronted health care professionals, patients and their families with new choices, decisions and ethical dilemmas. The study of the decision-making process may prove to be particularly useful in this field. Although review of the literature reveals that the process by which health care professionals reach clinical decisions has been widely studied, little attention has been directed to the processes by which patients and families reach critical decisions on issues of life and death. This review explores models which describe how rational, deliberate decisions should be made, as well as those which describe how the decision-making process of cadaver organ donation actually takes place. The decision-making process involves a number of cognitive, emotional and behavioral processes which are influenced by individual and family factors. Knowledge of these factors is critical to professionals who wish to plan an appropriate approach and to support the grieving family effectively. The health care provider who proposes to the family the option of organ donation must take into account the opinion and desires of all family members and not rely on the decision of a single key member. The goal of intervention is to help the family members to function collectively, regardless of whether they consent or refuse organ donation, and to help them to adjust to the loss of their loved person.

Key words: Cadaver, Decision making, Family, Informed consent, Organ donors.