Search

Background: Organ donation has an obvious establishment in health care. When the patient hasn’t expressed his or hers stand for donation, relatives will be placed in a decision-making position which may seem daunting and complex. Purpose: The purpose was to elucidate relative’s experiences in connection with the donation process. Method: A qualitative literature study based on 20 caring science articles. Result: Three themes were created. When life fades is dealing with feelings of denial to a critical condition, uncertainty about death and the feeling of losing the footing. The importance of getting your own needs satisfied highlights confirmed and neglected needs. To make sense of death is about giving life as a gift to someone in need of transplantation and find meaning by the experience that the deceased lives on in someone else. Conclusion: For relatives’ life turns up and down when a critically ill next of kin passes. Not having your needs confirmed can lead to further suffering. By a consideration about the occurrence of deficiencies and about what is perceived as satisfactory to relatives during the organ donation process, the intensive care nurse can pay better attention to requests.