{
  "id": 6425851,
  "title": "Brazil’s rate of organ donation refusal by relatives stands at 45%",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/09/brazils-rate-of-organ-donation-refusal-by-relatives-stands-at-45",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-09T13:14:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Agencia Brasil",
    "slug": "agencia-brasil",
    "url": "https://agenciabrasil.ebc.com.br/en/saude/noticia/2026-09/brazils-rate-organ-donation-refusal-relatives-stands-45"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "When a family member dies, they face the agonizing choice of whether to authorize organ donation after brain death is confirmed. In Brazil, around 45 percent of families refuse this donation, a number that fluctuates between states and even within the same city, indicating that refusal is influenced not only by individuals but also by institutional factors. Cristiano Franke, president of the Brazilian Association of Intensive Care Medicine (AMIB), explains that many families would like to honor the deceased's wishes, but often lack proper support and communication within hospitals.\n\nThe association, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, has trained 2,534 healthcare professionals from September 2025 to August 2026 to assist in the donation and transplantation process. By August, this figure had surpassed the initial goal of 2,000 by 25 percent. Their training aims to enhance communication to mitigate family resistance to organ removal from brain-dead relatives and provide expertise on the entire donation process, from identifying potential donors to managing the clinical aspects of the donor. Franke emphasizes that brain death diagnosis must follow strict criteria, as must donor care and family communication.\n\nFamilies often struggle with accepting the diagnosis of brain death, religious beliefs, fear of damaging the body, mistrust of the process, and doubts about the deceased's wishes or the perceived interest of healthcare professionals in the organs over the patient and their family. They also express concerns about bodily disfigurement, which the association addresses by explaining the procedure and body restoration process to ensure no visible disfigurements during funeral rites.\n\nAs of August, training had been completed in 73 courses across 23 modules, involving 25 Brazilian states. Eight additional training sessions are scheduled before the project concludes. In 2025, 15,940 potential donors were registered in Brazil, and 4,335 became actual donors. However, among the 4,200 families interviewed, 45 percent did not authorize donation. The association trained 933 physicians in August, with 473 focusing on brain death determination, alongside other healthcare professionals including nurses, psychologists, social workers, and more.",
  "summary": "The loss of a loved one is one of the most painful experiences a family can face, as they are confronted with the difficult decision of whether or not to authorize organ donation after brain death has been confirmed, in order to save the lives of strangers on the waiting list. In Brazil, the average rate of family members refusing organ donation hovers around 45 percent – a figure that varies…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}