Organ procurement organization representatives play a pivotal role in serving families of a deceased donor and mediating disagreements about the donation while physicians' involvement in these discussions is minimal.
Physicians need to help surrogate decision makers to make treatment and end-of-life decisions for those with severe neurological damage by proving a realistic prognosis and maintain strong lines of communication.
Physicians need to understand that a patient's faith shapes his or her understanding of illness and know how to respond when the patient attempts to evangelize during the clinical encounter.