JHSM
Journal of Health Sciences and Medicine

Journal of Health Sciences and Medicine (JHSM) is an unbiased, peer-reviewed, and open access international medical journal. The Journal publishes interesting clinical and experimental research conducted in all fields of medicine, interesting case reports, and clinical images, invited reviews, editorials, letters, comments, and related knowledge.

eISSN: 2636-8579
Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International License.
EndNote Style

Submit Manuscript

Index
Original Article
Knowledge, attitudes, and experiences of intensive care nurses regarding brain death and organ donation: a cross-sectional study
Abstract
Aims: This study aimed to evaluate the knowledge and awareness of intensive care nurses regarding brain death and organ donation, and to determine the association of institutional training and clinical experience with their attitudes toward postmortem organ donation. Methods: This descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted among 446 intensive care nurses working in a tertiary care hospital. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire consisting of four sections, including sociodemographic characteristics, knowledge and experiences related to brain death and organ donation, and the Organ Donation Attitude Scale Toward Postmortem Organ Donation. Statistical analyses were performed using appropriate parametric tests, with a significance level set at p0.05). However, nurses who attended institutional “brain death and donor care” training demonstrated significantly higher scores in the negative attitude subdimension (p=0.020), indicating more favorable attitudes after reverse scoring. Additionally, nurses with experience in following up patients diagnosed with brain death had significantly higher positive attitude and total scale scores (p=0.003 and p=0.010, respectively). No significant differences were observed based on donor care experience. Conclusion: Intensive care nurses demonstrated generally positive attitudes toward organ donation; however, a discrepancy between willingness and actual donor registration persists. Targeted institutional training and clinical exposure to brain death cases are associated with more positive attitudes. Expanding structured training programs and integrating nurses more actively into the organ donation process may improve donation rates.

Keywords : Organ donation, brain death, intensive care units, nurses, attitude, tissue and organ procurement

Download Article


1. Tripathy S, Das SK. Strategies for organ preservation: current prospective and challenges. Cell Biol Int. 2023;47(3):520-538. doi:10.1002/cbin.11984
2. Akbulut S, Yilmaz S. Liver transplantation in Turkey: historical review and future perspectives. Transplant Rev. 2015;29(3):161-167. doi:10.1016/ j.trre.2014.12.002
3. Soylu D, Soylu A, Yüzbaşıoğlu MF. Determination of the factors affecting organ donation: voluntary organ donors. Transplant Immunol. 2022;72:101568. doi:10.1016/j.trim.2022.101568
4. Can F, Hovardaoglu S. Organ donation: a comparison of donating and nondonating families in Turkey. Transplantat Proceed. 2017;49(9):1969-1974. doi:10.1016/j.transproceed.2017.09.032
5. Kentish-Barnes N, Siminoff LA, Walker W, et al. A narrative review of family members’ experience of organ donation request after brain death in the critical care setting. Intens Care Med. 2019;45(3):331-342. doi:10. 1007/s00134-019-05575-4
6. Andrei H. Development of a scale to measure the attitude toward posthumous organ donation for transplantation in Romania. Analele Ştiintifice Univ Alexandru Ioan Cuza Psihol. 2012;(2):23-40.
7. Gökkaya ÖÜD, Karaman M. Ölüm sonrasına yönelik Organ Bağışı Tutum Ölçeği’nin Türkçe geçerlilik ve güvenirlik çalışması. Visionary E-J. 2023;14:39.
8. Masoumian Hoseini ST, Manzari Z, Khaleghi I. ICU nurses’ knowledge, attitude, and practice towards their role in the organ donation process from brain-dead patients and factors influencing it in Iran. Int J Organ Transplant Med. 2015;6(3):105-113.
9. Thilly Roth N, Åkerman E. Critical care nurses’ perceptions and experiences of the organ donation process: a systematic review. Nurs Open. 2026;13(1):e70420. doi:10.1002/nop2.70420
10. Tzenalis A, Kontesidou E, Kipourgos G, Andreopoulou E, Gkotsi A, Albani E. Nurses’ attitudes and knowledge about organ donation and transplantation in closed hospital wards. J Critic Care Med. 2025;11(4): 409-416. doi:10.2478/jccm-2025-0041
11. Kalaycı M, Koyuncu A, Yava A, Olgun N. Yoğun bakım hemşirelerinin beyin ölümü ve organ transplantasyonuna yönelik tutumları ile yapay organ nakline yönelik görüşlerinin değerlendirilmesi. Yoğun Bakım Hemşir Derg. 2024;28(1):17-26. doi:10.62111/ybhd.1448724
12. Fırıncıoğlu A, Erkalp K, Sevdi MS, Selcan A. The assessment of the knowledge, attitude and practices of nurses working in intensive care units regarding brain death in Turkey (a survey study). Istanbul Kanuni Sultan Suleyman Med J. 2020;12(2):100-108. doi:10.5222/iksstd.2020. 27147
13. Akbulut S. Knowledge levels, attitudes and awareness of nurses toward organ donation. North Clin Istanbul. 2022. doi:10.14744/nci.2022.24478
Article available in :
Volume 9, Issue 3, 2026
Page : 799-805
https://doi.org/10.32322/jhsm.1914262
Article Information
Received : 23 Mar 2026
Accepted : 07 May 2026
Published : 19 May 2026
Corresponding Author :

Hatice Zeynep Atlı: Department of Intensive Care Unit, Ankara Etlik City Hospital, Ankara, Turkiye

[email protected]
Citation : Atlı HZ, Şenol D, Tepe T, Gürün E, Bozkuş R. Knowledge, attitudes, and experiences of intensive care nurses regarding brain death and organ donation: a cross-sectional study. J Health Sci Med. 2026;9(3):799-805. doi:10.32322/jhsm.1914262

Read: 229
Download : 70
Cited: 0
_Footer