Family Physicians' Role in Recruitment of Organ Donors
Susan A. Bidigare, MD, MS;
Aaron R. Ellis, MD
Arch Fam Med. 2000;9:601-605.
Objective To determine if family physicians can increase the commitment of patients to organ donation.
Design Prospective, systematically randomized, cross-sectional study.
Setting Family practice residency medical center associated with an urban, community-based teaching institution.
Patients A total of 300 patients aged 18 years or older, able to give consent, and being seen for non–life-threatening visits; 247 patients returned valid second questionnaires.
Interventions Instruments included 2 self-administered questionnaires. All patients received questionnaire 1 to be completed in the examination room. They also received an informational brochure, a Michigan Secretary of State driver's license sticker (donor sticker) and questionnaire 2. Group 1 received the written materials only. Group 2 received written materials plus a brief verbal discussion by the investigators following a standard protocol. Questionnaire 2 was to be completed and returned after the interventions.
Main Outcome Measures Self-reported completion of donor sticker was used to evaluate commitment to organ donation. Knowledge scores were summed for preintervention and postintervention means.
Results Thirty-three percent of patients had already committed to organ donation prior to the study. Of those not previously committed, 40% decided to do so after the interventions. There was no statistical difference in the recruitment of donors between the 2 intervention groups. Of new donors identified, 65% stated their decision was due to written materials provided, while 34% attributed this to discussion with a physician. Thirty-five percent of the family members made arrangements to donate their own organs after the discussion with the patient. There was a significant difference between mean pretest and posttest knowledge scores (10 questions; 7.9 vs 9.2; P<.01).
Conclusion Family physicians can increase the commitment to organ donation through a relatively simple intervention.
From the Department of Family Practice, St John Hospital and Medical Center, Detroit, Mich. Dr Bidigare is now with the Department of Family Medicine, Wayne State University, Detroit.
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