Reasons for nondonation among potential organ donors
| Reason† | No. (%) of patients* | p value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| With trauma n = 60 | Without trauma n = 170 | ||
| Medically unsuitable | 16 (26.7) | 58 (34.1) | 0.4 |
| Not declarable | 9 (15.0) | 26 (15.3) | 1.0 |
| Age‡ | 7 (11.7) | 22 (12.9) | 0.8 |
| Other§ | 5 (8.3) | 27 (15.9) | 0.2 |
| Unknown | n < 5 | 7 (4.1) | 0.8 |
| Did not die within time frame allotted¶ | 7 (11.7) | 14 (8.2) | 0.4 |
| Family refused consent | 28 (46.7) | 51 (30.0) | 0.02 |
| Did not want to wait any longer for organ donation process to occur | 11 (18.3) | 8 (4.7) | < 0.001 |
| Family belief | 8 (13.3) | 14 (8.2) | 0.2 |
| Unknown | 9 (15.0) | 29 (15.3) | 0.7 |
| Missed referral | 12 (20.0) | 55 (32.4) | 0.1 |
| Medically unsuitable | 6 (10.0) | 29 (17.1) | 0.2 |
| Family refused consent or was not approached | n < 5 | 0 (0) | 0.1 |
| Unknown | 5 (8.3) | 26 (15.3) | 0.2 |
↵* In keeping with the privacy policy of the Nova Scotia Department of Health and Wellness, any counts less than 5 are suppressed and reported as n < 5.
↵† Some patients did not become organ donors for more than 1 reason.
↵‡ The age limit for donation after circulatory death was 54 years before June 2010 and 64 years after June 2010.
↵§ Includes cancer, multiorgan failure, hepatitis, sepsis and renal failure.
↵¶ Time frame was 2 hours following withdrawal of life support.