Knowledge and attitudes of critical care nurses regarding organ donation.

The purpose of this study was to describe the knowledge, attitudes, personal commitment, and professional involvement of Canadian critical care nurses in organ donation. This was part of a larger study of 4900 Canadian nurses and physicians. 50% of nurses receiving questionnaires responded. Of the 147 critical care nurses who responded to the survey, over 92% supported organ donation in principle. However, only 65.3% had completed organ donor cards. Nurses responded correctly to 71.2% of the questions testing knowledge. Attitudes regarding organ donation tended to be positive, but 85% of nurses indicated reluctance to approach potential organ donors. Critical care nurses scored higher than other groups of nurses on the knowledge, attitude, and professional involvement in organ donation subscales.