Pediatric organ transplantation and the hispanic population: Approaching families and obtaining their consent

Background While the number of children on waiting lists for organ donation continues to increase, little data exists concerning Hispanic children and organ donation. For physicians who care for Hispanic children, it is important to understand the factors that may influence organ donation in this population. Methods This retrospective chart review included 88 cases of brain death that occurred between 1990 and 1999 in 3 pediatric intensive care units. The data set included brain death determination, age, ethnicity, whether the family was approached for organ donation, and rate of consent. Results Compared with non-Hispanic/Caucasian (NH/C) families, fewer Hispanic/Caucasian (H/C) families consented to organ donation (P ≤ .03). H/C families were approached less often for organ donation than NH/C families, although the difference was not significant (P ≤ .08). Even once approached, H/C families were probably less likely to consent to organ donation (P ≤ .087). Conclusion H/C families of children with brain death show a lower organ donation consent rate than do NH/C families. However, H/C families are less likely to be approached for organ donation and this may possibly explain the reason that fewer H/C families consent to organ donation.