Despite the lifesaving potential of organ transplantation, a severe shortage of available organs persists worldwide. Because the family members of intensive care unit (ICU) patients hold the critical power of consent, understanding what shapes their choices is vital to narrowing the gap between organ demand and supply.

This cross-sectional, single-center study investigated the willingness of 155 adult family members of ICU patients to consent to organ donation at a tertiary care center in northern Jordan.

Participants completed a structured questionnaire covering sociodemographic details, knowledge of organ donation and brain death, religious and cultural beliefs, trust in healthcare, and media exposure. Due to the small sample size and sparse cell counts, the researchers utilized Firth’s penalized logistic regression to identify independent predictors of their willingness.

The study revealed that only 28.4% of the surveyed family members were willing to donate their loved one’s organs.

The analysis identified high trust in the healthcare system as the single most powerful predictor of willingness, increasing the likelihood of consent nearly eightfold (OR 7.73).

This was closely followed by a favorable religious stance toward donation (OR 4.75) and a high baseline familiarity with the concept of organ donation itself (OR 2.78).

The findings emphasize that clinical metrics alone do not dictate donation decisions; instead, deeply rooted cultural and systemic factors heavily influence a family’s choice during a crisis. The authors conclude that to successfully improve consent rates, healthcare systems must invest in context-specific interventions.

Public campaigns and hospital strategies that build institutional trust, address religious misconceptions, and elevate general community awareness are essential steps toward transforming critical care tragedy into lifesaving opportunities.

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