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Background: There is an increasing need for organs for transplantation purposes. Knowledge and attitudes among the medical team may affect the donation process. When respiration and cardiac activity are being sustained by artificial means, Norwegian law requires angiographic evidence of cessation of cerebral circulation as well as clinical examination before an organ donation can be carried out. We wished to survey Norwegian doctors' attitudes to organ donation and how donation processes are being addressed., Material and Method: A questionnaire with pre-defined response alternatives was distributed to doctors in intensive-care units as well as to specialists and junior registrars in neurosurgery in Norwegian donor hospitals in 2008-2009., Results: Altogether 435 doctors (55%) returned a completed questionnaire. A total of 315 of 420 (75%) responded that they would consider initiating organ-preserving treatment when there is no more hope for the patient, while 18% were uncertain and 7% responded that they would not consider this option. Altogether 68 of 424 (16%) maintained that if an organ donation was relevant and current legislation could be disregarded, clinical diagnostics would be sufficient to establish a diagnosis of death. Another 22% were uncertain, while 62% were of the opinion that clinical diagnostics would be insufficient. A total of 258 of 416 (62%) reported that in their opinion, the next of kin most often could understand the implications of total destruction of the brain when this was explained to them., Interpretation: Future teaching should emphasise the opportunity for organ-preserving treatment in cases where a fatal outcome is expected.

Background: The skill of the person who asks about organ donation and the timing of the conversation may have an impact on the likelihood of obtaining consent from a patient's relatives. The purpose of the study was to investigate the experience that intensive care doctors and neurosurgeons have of treating organ donors and communicating with their relatives, as well as the doctors' own learning needs., Material and Method: In 2008, we sent a questionnaire to all doctors at all intensive-care units at all donor hospitals in Norway, and to all neurosurgeons/neurosurgical trainees., Results: Altogether 435 doctors (55 per cent) responded to the questionnaire. Of these, 63 per cent were specialists in intensive care medicine. More than half had little experience of organ donation or how to relate to the patients' relatives. Many of them reported a need to learn more about the medical issues associated with organ donation and about communication in this situation., Interpretation: Many doctors fail to adhere to recommended practice in their encounters with relatives. Training programmes should focus especially on communication with relatives.

Background: In Norway, liver transplantation has been the treatment of choice for irreversible acute and chronic liver failure for 25 years. The aim of this article is to present a summary of the results obtained., Material and Methods: All liver transplants performed in Norway in the period 25.02.84-31.12.08 have been reviewed retrospectively with respect to patient and donor epidemiology, survival and recurrence., Results: 651 transplants have been performed in this period. The annual number of transplants increased gradually up to the year 2000 (31), and more steeply afterwards - to 79 in 2008. Also the number of organ donations has increased and reached 98 (20 pr. million inh.) in 2008. 5-year patient survival was 53 % in the period 1984-1994. In the period 2001-2008, 1-year survival was 90 % and 5-year survival was 83 %., Interpretation: The gradual improvement of results should be interpreted in light of improvements within transplant surgery, medicine and anaesthesiology and the increased local experience due to the increasing number of transplants performed. The transplant centre at Rikshospitalet has developed into being among the largest of its kind within the Nordic Countries and the results compare well with the best international data.