Determining ICU staff's conceptions, opinions, views, experiences and reflection (DISCOVER) of organ donation – Results from a Swiss multicenter survey
Authors' conclusion
Swiss ICU professionals support organ donation, though strong commitment to donate their own organs is limited and helping others was not reported as a predominant motivation.
Study context
- Population
- ICU professionals in three Swiss ICUs
- Participants
- 338 professionals
- Outcome
- Perceptions, beliefs, and understanding of organ donation
Methodological detailsmulticenter
- Multicenter
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
- Would accept organs
- 75%
- Open to donating
- 70%
- Fully committed to donating
- 41%
- "helping others" as motivation, of the open
- 30.7%
- "helping others" as motivation, of the committed
- 13.9%
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Secondary outcomes
| Outcome | Physicians | Nurses | Estimate | P value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Willingness to donate, physicians vs nursesPhysicians were more willing than nurses | 10 | 9 | P = 0.001 | |
| Willingness to donate by wishing to receive organsWishing to receive organs vs not wishing to receive organs · willingness aligned with wishing to receive organs | 10 vs. 2 | P < 0.001 |
Correlates of willingness to donate
- Higher age (lower willingness)
- ρ = −0.309
- Longer ICU experience (lower willingness)
- ρ = −0.335
- Belief in life after death (lower willingness)
- ρ = −0.168
- Approval of the brain death concept (positively correlated)
- ρ = 0.253
- All p ≤ 0.002
Characteristics linked to wishing to receive organs
- Lower age
- 36 vs. 50
- Fewer ICU years
- 13 vs. 28
- Stronger wish to donate
- 10 vs. 2
- Better understanding of brain death
- 10 vs. 9
- All p = 0.002
Original publication
Determining ICU staff's conceptions, opinions, views, experiences and reflection (DISCOVER) of organ donation – Results from a Swiss multicenter survey. J Crit Care. Published 20 October 2026. doi:10.
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →