Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40571891›Full record

ArticleCanadian journal of anaesthesia = Journal canadien d'anesthesie2025

Organ donation after death determination by circulatory criteria: family members' experiences with withdrawal of life-sustaining measures in Canadian intensive care units.

Aimee J Sarti, Stephanie Sutherland, Maureen Meade, Matthew J Weiss, Sonny Dhanani, Ken M Lotherington, Angele Landriault, Brandi Vanderspank-Wright, Sabira Valiani, Sean Keenan and 8 more

Abstract read

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In one paragraph

Article in Canadian journal of anaesthesia = Journal canadien d'anesthesie, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it

0cells of the map it votes in

4citing papers in PubMed

–field-weighted citation impact

1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed.

Education and Ethical Guidance for Organ Donation at the End-of-Life: An Ethical Guidance Statement from the Neurocritical Care Society.Neurocritical care · 2026
Review
Donation Care Work: Family Members' Contributions to Deceased Organ Donation Following Determination of Death Using Circulatory Criteria.Sociology of health & illness · 2026
Article
When End-of-Life Becomes the Beginning of New Life: Application of the Society of Critical Care Medicine Clinical Practice Guidelines on Adult End-of-Life Care in the ICU to the Setting of Donation After Circulatory Death.Critical care explorations · 2026
Article
Relatives' experiences of end-of-life care and organ donation after controlled circulatory death: a national prospective multicenter study.Critical care (London, England) · 2025
Article

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

18 authors.

Aimee J SartiDepartment of Critical Care, The Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa, ON, Canada. asarti@toh.ca.

Stephanie SutherlandDepartment of Critical Care, The Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa, ON, Canada.ORCID 0000-0003-2751-3773

Maureen MeadeDepartment of Critical Care, Hamilton Health Sciences, Hamilton, ON, Canada.

Matthew J WeissPopulation Health and Optimal Health Practices Research Unit, Trauma-Emergency-Critical Care Medicine, CHU de Québec-Université Laval, Quebec City, QC, Canada.

Sonny DhananiDivision of Critical Care, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO), Ottawa, ON, Canada.

Ken M LotheringtonCanadian Blood Services, Ottawa, ON, Canada.

Angele LandriaultLearning and Practice Improvement (LPI) Unit, Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada.

Brandi Vanderspank-WrightOttawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada.

Sabira ValianiDepartment of Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada.

Sean KeenanBC Transplant, Vancouver, BC, Canada.

Andreas H KramerUniversity of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.

Stephen BeedDepartment of Critical Care, Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada.

Joanne BrennanOttawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada.

Pierre CardinalDepartment of Critical Care, The Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa, ON, Canada.

Michaël ChasséDepartment of Medicine, Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada.

Peter NickersonRady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada.

Sam D ShemieCanadian Blood Services, Ottawa, ON, Canada.

Canadian Critical Care Trials Group (CCCTG)

Funding

Research Support, Non-US Gov’t

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeDonation after death determination by circulatory criteria (DCC) is an option currently available for imminently dying patients who do not meet neurologic criteria for death. When organ donation is not successful following withdrawal of life-sustaining measures (WLSM), family members may experience additional feelings of loss and bereavement. In this study, we sought to explore the lived experiences of family members who consented to donation after DCC, including families whose loved ones proceeded to donation and those for whom donation was not possible.

methodsWe conducted a qualitative study using semi-structured interviews with family members whose loved ones agreed to donation after DCC and underwent WLSM in Canadian intensive care units. We recruited participants from all Canadian provinces with an organ donation organization (n = 10) and analyzed themes using a modified grounded theory approach.

resultsInterviews with 79 family members of 78 potential donors with DCC revealed nine main themes as important in the context of WLSM in DCC: 1) early and repetitive communication, 2) predicting time of death (after WLSM), 3) invitation to witness WLSM, 4) family agency in donation after DCC (e.g., wishing they had been able to take some action and/or exert more control), 5) environment, 6) support, 7) honouring donor/meaning making, 8) guilt, and 9) triple loss (i.e., death, unsuccessful donation, and loss for recipients).

conclusionIn this qualitative study, we identified a range of experiences among family members in the context of WLSM in DCC. Among those, we found family involvement in the WLSM and the DCC process to be very important. Family member perspectives on organ donation are essential to guide practices that can support consistent, high-quality family-centred care in this context.

Indexed as

DeathFamilyLife Support CareTissue and Organ ProcurementWithholding TreatmentAdultAgedBereavementCanadaCommunicationFemaleHumansIntensive Care UnitsInterviews as TopicMaleMiddle Agedbereaved family membersdonation after circulatory deathintensive careorgan donationqualitative study

Identifiers

PMID40571891

DOI10.1111/nicc.12436

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.