Organ Donation: To ask or not to ask?

Perhaps one of the most difficult and sensitive conversations that takes place in healthcare is about the subject of organ donation. Regrettably this conversation frequently takes place alongside or subsequent to the breaking of bad news of death or imminent death to relatives. In intensive care settings, discussion about organ donation is sometimes initiated by relatives when they have had time to come to terms with imminent death and are seeking some good in an otherwise hopeless situation, thus the discussion may be not be so distressing. Unfortunately this is not the case in emergent situations. Death in the emergency department is almost always sudden, unexpected and invariably traumatic for relatives.