Assessing comfort level of organ donation competencies among pediatric intensivists in Saudi Arabia: a national survey

Abstract

Background As increasing the number of organ donations presents a global challenge, Saudi Arabia is no different. Intensivists can play a major role in maximizing the organ donation process and minimize the challenges. The purpose of this study was to investigate Saudi pediatric intensivists’ comfort and importance levels of organ donation competencies. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional survey whose sampling frame included 100 pediatric intensivists. The pediatrician intensivists were identified through an updated list provided by the Saudi Critical Care Society. We assessed 14 competencies categorized into four domains: the general donation, donation after brain death (DBD), neurological determination of death, and medicolegal, religious, and ethical domains. Then we investigated the association between these competencies and physicians’ characteristics. Results With a response rate of 76%, we found that 40–60% of the surveyed pediatric intensivists rated their comfort in 6 out of 14 competencies as high or very high. There was a statistically significant gap in the intensivists’ rating of 10 competencies (i.e., high importance but low comfort levels). Ordinal regression showed that comfort levels with the general donation, neurological determination of death, and medicolegal, religious, and ethical domains were higher in intensivists who were frequently involved with DBD than those who had never been exposed. Conclusions Pediatric intensivists expressed low comfort levels to organ donation competencies that are essential for maximizing donation rates. Adapting mandatory comprehensive donation education programs and dedicated physician specialists may be beneficial in critical care units aiming to increase donation rates.

Current state of ethical challenges reported in Saudi Arabia: a systematic review & bibliometric analysis from 2010 to 2021

“…Participants had poor knowledge about corneal donation Less than one-third were favorable to postmortem corneal grafts Religion hindered the willingness to donate in about onequarter of the sample Kazzaz and Da'ar [96] Pediatric intensivists (n = 100) from Central, Eastern, Northern, Western, Southern regions Low perceived comfort levels in several organ donation competencies Comfort levels were influenced by the participants' frequency of exposure to donation after brain death, the health sector, and region of practice Participants viewed most of the competencies as important to their practice Low comfort levels with competencies were associated with gaps in knowledge Thirunavukkarasu et al [97] Students (n = 400) from Jouf The most common organ that can be donated are kidneys, blood, heart, and eyes About two-thirds were not aware of SCOT and its activities The government has to promote organ donation to the public The majority were willing to donate their organs Common barriers for organ donation were a lack of knowledge, founded and unfounded fear, and refusal from family members Omran et al [98] Students (n = 352) from Jeddah, Mecca, and Taif Most of the sample had poor knowledge about organ donation Higher knowledge in sixth-year students than second-year students…”

“…Thus, the overall knowledge about organ donation and transplantation varied based on the research objective (i.e., blood, skin, kidney donation). In general, the participants reported insufficient information about organ donation and transplantation [72,75,78,90,91,95,96,102]. The main source of information about organ donation was TV, social media [72,75,77,79,[81][82][83][84]89].…”

Awareness, Attitudes, and Willingness: A Cross-Sectional Study of Organ Donation in Saudi Arabia

“…This belief was significantly associated with awareness of the Islamic Fatwa on brain death and organ transplantation, as well as knowledge of SCOT's role, but it did not necessarily lead to registration as donors or the inclination to donate organs to friends or family members. Interestingly, the majority of those registered as deceased donors were willing to donate all potential organs, contrasting with the other literature that identifies the kidney as the most frequently donated organ [9,10,[21][22][23][24][25]. This demonstrates a remarkable level of altruism within the Saudi population.…”

Paediatric organ donation following neurological determinants of death in intensive care units in Saudi Arabia: a retrospective cross-sectional study

“…29 This high percentage was consistent with those previously reported in other national studies; a study from four adult ICUs in Saudi Arabia revealed a non-reporting rate of 67%, while 60% of paediatric intensivists expressed low comfort with the referral process. 14 16 Weiss et al investigated intensivists' knowledge, attitudes and reported behaviour in non-referral scenarios; reasons for nonreferral included perceptions of contraindications that would prevent donation and the presence of family distress. 30 The referral of potential donors is mandatory; nonetheless, a system should be set up to ensure compliance with reporting requirements.…”

“…Paediatric intensivists in Saudi Arabia express low comfort levels with organ donation after NDD competencies, including offering families the opportunity for donation, referral process to OPOs, consent discussions, and ethical, legal, and religious considerations. 14 Only three-quarters of healthcare providers in adult intensive care units (ICUs) at a tertiary care hospital in Saudi were aware of the hospital donation policy. 15 In 2004, only 33% of adult patients experienced brain death were reported to SCOT.…”