Oh, what a delightful surprise! A survey was conducted to peek into the minds of Nova Scotia’s finest family and emergency department (ED) physicians regarding their thoughts on organ donation and transplantation. Because, you know, it’s not like they have anything better to do than fill out questionnaires.

So, we sent out this electronic, self-administered survey (because who needs human interaction?) to all the family physicians and ED docs in Nova Scotia. We were curious about their demographic characteristics, experience with organ donation, and their knowledge about organ donation and the Human Organ and Tissue Donation Act (HOTDA). We also wanted to know their attitudes toward organ donation and HOTDA, and the opportunities for and barriers to the implementation of HOTDA in clinical practice. Because, clearly, their attitudes are the real barrier to organ donation, not the lack of resources or systemic issues.

And guess what? 211 family physicians and 73 ED physicians took time out of their busy schedules to respond. Most of them had favorable attitudes towards organ donation and were all aboard the deemed consent model train. Choo choo! However, nearly three-quarters of family physicians only talk about organ donation when the patient brings it up. Because, obviously, it’s a topic that comes up as casually as the weather.

In the ED, the barriers to organ donation were as simple as not knowing the referral process, families saying “nope,” and not knowing what the deceased wanted. It’s not like there’s a complex web of emotional, ethical, and procedural issues at play or anything.

So, in conclusion, our family physicians and ED physicians are totally positive about organ donation and love the idea of deemed consent. But, oops, there are a few knowledge gaps and training topics that need to be addressed. Because, you know, knowing stuff is generally considered helpful when implementing new medical policies.