Critical care nurses' attitudes and knowledge related to organ donation.

The need for organ transplant has nearly quadrupled in the past decade, but the number of organ donors has remained relatively constant. Critical care nurses are the vital link in the organ donation process because they can be responsible for referring potential donor cases to an organ procurement organization. This study found that the majority of nurses had overwhelmingly positive attitudes toward organ donation, but they failed to act on their beliefs. Applications for practice include the need to increase critical care nurses' knowledge about designated requesters, the organ donation process, and procedures that assure ethical standards are met.