Introduction: The shortage of organs for transplant purposes is a global problem. In the United States, over 114,000 people are currently on the transplantation waiting list, and unfortunately many die while waiting. In a situation where organ donation is a possibility, bed-side intensive care professionals (physicians, nurses) are expected to realize the potential for donation. Critical-care nurses are key to successful organ donor management. As a result, valid and reliable tools that support continual nurse learning should be used that targets the learning needs of the bedside nurse.

Method: In 2010, Flodén found that among critical-care healthcare professionals, there was an aspect of nurses that wanted to represent and safeguard the deceased organ donor. This representation and safeguarding was termed organ donor advocacy and lead to the development and validation of the, Flodén Attitudes Toward Organ Donor Advocacy Instrument (ATODAI) for Swedish ICU-nurses. Cross-cultural adaptation and psychometric validation of the Flodén ATODAI instrument into the North American context was performed as well as a large-scale study within the United States.

Results and Conclusions: The United States study results identified that there is a need for continual beside ICU nurse learning concerning organ donation. The ATODAI is a tool that can assist individual critical-care nurses, nurse educators, and or nurse managers to identify learning needs associated with organ donation and thereby, ensuring opportunities for organ donation are not overlooked.