Alison Sweet considers the issues around the sensitive area of organ donation and transplantation, and the role of A&E staff

Organ donation and transplantation are highly controversial and emotive areas of nursing (1). Nonetheless, sudden death is a continual issue in the A&E department, thus creating a potential source of donors for transplantation purposes (2). This article will consider what organs would be suitable for retrieval in A&E, what appears to be restricting this process, and means of improving the rate of retrieval.