Organ donation worldwide : solutions to increase organ donation rates

Abstract

The purpose of the research was to conduct a critical review of the literature surrounding organ donation. The paper discusses the different types of legislation involved in organ donation and solutions to increase organ donation rates. A systematic literature review and analysis of recent peer reviewed journal articles was conducted to assess different organ donation systems around the world. Medline, PubMed, Proquest and ScienceDirect databases were used. The majority of countries with high organ donation rates have an opt-out organ donation system. There are a variety of confounding factors that might explain this correlation, such as the transplant capacity of the country, health expenditure and high mortality rates relevant to organ donation. Countries have implemented various strategies to increase organ donation rates. Some of these include changing consent systems, adopting the Spanish Model of organ donation, the reintroduction of donation after cardiac death, public education campaigns, training health workers to approach families for consent, incentives and developing a nationally coordinated system. The gap between the supply and demand for organs continues to widen. Countries need to focus on maximising all organ donation opportunities. There is not a single solution to increase organ donation rates. A multi-sectoral approach is needed to reduce the gap between the supply and demand for organs. This thesis adds to the growing body of literature surrounding organ donation.