Family interview guide for requesting organ donation for transplantation. An evaluation using the appraisal of guidelenes research and evaluation instrument(AGREE II)

Brain-dead donors (BDD) are the single largest source of transplantable organs. Families’ informed consent to donate family members’ organs is always requested and is a determining factor in the success of organ transplantation. The interview between the transplant coordinator (TC) and the family of possible organ donors requires specific planning and methodology. The transplant coordination department at the Hospital Sant Creu and Sant Pau (HSCSP) of Barcelona (Spain) has developed a Family Interview Guide (FIG) for requesting informed consent to organ donation for transplantation from BDD. For the internal evaluation of the guidelines presented in this paper the AGREE II (Appraisal of Guidelines Research & Evaluation) instrument was used. We present our FIG to request organ donation and its assessment with the AGREE II instrument by four medical specialists. The FIG describes the process and content of the conversations surrounding the donation request. FIG was implemented in 2011 and consists of the following 13 sections: planning, recommendations, professionals conducting the interview, requestor’s attitude towards families, interview setting, timing of the interview, duration of the interview, requesting informed consent, details of the donation process to the donor’s family, formalizing the agreement, donor documentation, funeral arrangements administration procedures and psychological support for donor families. The main purpose of this guide is to increase organ donation rates. From January 2011 to August 2012, 40 consecutive family interviews from 40 BDD were conducted using FIG. For the evaluation of this FIG the AGREE II instrument was used. This is a generic tool designed primarily to assist designers and users of clinical guidelines in the assessment of their methodological quality. The rate of family consent to organ donation for transplantation in the HSCSP after implementation of this FIG in 40 consecutive family interviews was 100%. The assessment of this clinical guideline with the AGREE II instrument scored 71%. The application of our guideline in face-to-face interviews with the families of potential brain-dead organ donors was a success. The evaluation of our guide with the AGREE II instrument recommended its use in general clinical practice