Across the world and in the United States, a huge gap remains between the number of people waiting for organ donation to save their lives and the number of organs available for donation (Beil, 2013). Nurses play an important role in the organ donation process because they are usually the first to identify a potential organ donor by providing nursing care to that person (Manuel, Solberg, & MacDonald, 2010). Nurses are also responsible for providing families with relevant information about organ donation, making the decision to ask the family if they would like to donate their loved one's organs or referring them to someone who specializes in organ donation when the situation is appropriate, supporting the family whether or not they choose to donate their loved one's organs, and taking steps to preserve potential organs for donation when the family accepts organ donation. Studies have been conducted to provide insight into how nurses feel about the organ donation process and what they believe their role is as a practicing nurse in organ donation situations. As for the majority of practicing nurses around the world, the vast majority of them are unaware of their role in the organ donation process and how they would begin the process if they found themselves in the situation requiring them to do so (Jelinek, Marck, Weiland, Neate, & Hickey, 2012). These studies also help identify potential solutions, such as increased nursing education and understanding families' experiences with accepting organ donation, which may help nurses feel more comfortable identifying potential organ donors and move forward with the process to help reduce the gap between the number of organs needed and the number of av...... middle of the document ......icipation of intensive care unit nurses to promote organ donation organs from deceased donors. Transplant Procedures 42(3), 716-718. doi: 10.1016/j.transproceed.2010.03.022Manuel, A., Solberg, S., & MacDonald, S. (2010). Family members' experiences of organ donation. Nephrology Nursing Journal, 37(3), 229-236. Retrieved from https://www.annanurse.org/nnjMeyer, K., Bjørk, I., & Eide, H. (2012). Intensive care nurses' perceptions of their professional competence in the organ donation process: a national survey. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 68(1), 104-115. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2648.2011.05721.xRoels, L., Spaight, C., Smits, J., & Cohen, B. (2010). Attitudes, confidence levels and training needs of critical care staff correlate with countries' donation rates: data from the Donor Actions Database. Transplant International, 23(8), 842-850. doi: 10.1111/j.1432-2277.2010.01065.x