Family and Staff Responses to a Scripted Introduction to Tissue Donation for Hospice Inpatients on Admission

a clear and comprehensive overview of what is expected. The current practice is to discuss tissue and organ donation only after the loved one has died, with the assumption that decoupling death from tissue and organ donation will lead to higher consent rates. Unlike families of trauma victims, however, families of hospice patients have more time to deal with the forthcoming death of their loved one. Ideally the main goal would be to discuss the option of tissue donation at a time that is minimally stressful for the patient’s family. Initiating the discussion early is less stressful for patients’ families and allows patients and their families to discuss their wishes. The additional time permits them to think over the issues more thoroughly and gives them the opportunity to ask additional questions. A second issue is the improvement of communication between staff and patients’ families. Many families of hospice patients are unaware of the possibility for their loved one to be a tissue donor. Most hospice patients are older and have illnesses that may have caused damage to their body. The option of donation of tissue such as cornea, heart valve, and other tissue may never have occurred to them. The third area that evolved during the study was the increase in corneal donation. Previous studies have indicated that the proper identification of a patient as a potential tissue donor would have influenced the decision to donate. Staff members need to remember that they are offering patients and their families their rightful option to donate, rather than forcing them into an unexpected situation. In our study, hospice staff and donor families had the opportunity to discuss tissue donation at the time of admission to the hospice.