Introduction: Donation after Circulatory Death (DCD) complements Donation after Brain Death (DBD) to increase the number of organ donors. DCD has been practiced in some European countries since the 1990s, while others have adopted it more recently. There have been no prior comparative studies between European countries with diverse cultures and varying experiences with the DCD process, particularly from the perspective of critical care nurses.
Aim: To describe the experiences and perceptions of Spanish and Swedish critical care nurses participating in the controlled DCD (cDCD) process, highlighting similarities and differences between the two countries.
Method: A qualitative interview study using the Phenomenographic analysis method was conducted.
Results: A convenient sample of 12 critical care nurses from two European countries, each with experience in cDCD, participated in the study. The findings are categorized into three themes: professional aspects, organizational aspects, and existential issues, detailing the nurses' perceptions of the cDCD process. Additionally, the results compare the experiences of nurses from one country with over 25 years of cDCD experience to those from a country with 5 years of experience.
Conclusion: Hospitals that adopted the cDCD process early, in the 1990s, have since performed numerous DCD procedures. The results show that this has created vast expertise which can significantly contribute to the professional development of critical care nurses in hospitals with less cDCD experience.