Between health and death: The intense emotional pain experienced by transplant nurses

Abstract

The process of organ donation and transplantation carries a wide range of moral and ethical issues. The transplant co-ordinator (henceforth TC) is expected to be responsible for the course of the procedure that leads to a successful organ procurement. The TC is a key person in the process of obtaining the consent for organs for transplantation from deceased or living donors (Arie, 2008;Matesanz & Dominguez-Gil, 2007;Sikora, Czerwiński, Danek, & Lisik, 2014). Usually, five major ethical dilemmas arise for transplant co-ordinators (henceforth TCs): (a) aspects of discrimination; when the donor family tries to dictate who should not receive the donated organ from a cadaveric source. Also, to dictate whether a specific cultural or racial group should be excluded from consideration for potential receipt of the organs. This question is related to the dilemma faced in keeping the wishes of potential donors in mind while respecting families' beliefs without in any way condoning them; (b) conditions placed on who should be a recipient and the related issues of directed donation; (c) respect for a person's right to make a decision and the extent of information provided and understood by donors and recipients; (d) potential issues of coercion, compensation, and rewards in live-related or live-unrelated donation; and (e) potential conflicts in duties (Arie, 2008). Transplant co-ordinators have a crucial impact on the success of obtaining consent to the procurement of organs for transplantation (Bokek-Cohen & Tarabeih, 2019). Their behavior, personality, and way of conduct can have a pivotal role in the process. Our working assumption is that the emotional well-being of the nurse facilitates success in her/his job performance as well as contributes to the retention of these nurses. With this assumption in mind, this study uses a qualitative methodology informed by the phenomenologicalhermeneutic approach to explore emotional experiences of TCs that Abstract While extensive scholarship has been dedicated to the emotional experiences of transplant patients, little is known about the emotional experiences of transplant coordinators. Semi-structured face-to-face interviews conducted with ten transplant co-ordinators who have worked for more than 20 years in this job. The transplant coordinators spoke of negative feelings and moral distress with regard to futile care of deceased donor family members as well as of living donors. Transplant co-ordinators experience intense negative feelings, emotional pain, and moral distress on a daily basis. Transplant co-ordinators play a pivotal role in the process of obtaining consent for live or dead donation of organ; however, their well-being and job satisfaction are impaired by contradictions between their moral values and the tasks they are instructed to perform. The study exposes the silent emotional suffering of transplant co-ordinators; main findings show that the transplant co-ordinators are torn between contradictory expectations and a gap between values and praxis. It is recommended ...

Burnout and compassion fatigue among organ and tissue donation coordinators: a scoping review

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Using metaphor method to interpret and understand meanings of international operating room nurses' experiences in organ procurement surgery

“…Previous studies revealed that OR nurses expressed feelings of emptiness, helplessness and distress when participating in organ procurement procedures due to the donor's unexpected and tragic death and found it difficult to accept (Anderson, 2005;Wang & Lin, 2009). Similarly, this moral distress is experienced by other health professionals, such as donor coordinators (Tarabeih & Bokek-Cohen, 2020).…”

The double gender bias in parental kidney donation among Muslim Arab patients

“…Parental kidney donation to pediatric end‐stage renal disease (ESRD henceforth) patients represents a promising solution to the problem of the shortage of kidneys available for transplantation. This paucity is a part of a larger phenomenon of the disparity between the number of individuals who need organ transplantation and the pool of available donors (Duivenbode et al, 2020; Padela & Duivenbode, 2018; Tarabeih & Bokek‐Cohen, 2020). Previous studies have shown that it is usually the mothers who agree to donate their kidney to the sick child, while the fathers tend much less to donate (Bal, & Saikia, 2007; Hidalgo et al, 2001; Zeiler, 2009).…”