Fig. 2

Trust relationships from the potential donor’s perspective. From the perspective of the potential donor, autonomy is linked to respect for the personal decision, but also to respect for the wishes of the family (if the potential donor has delegated his/her decision to the family or has not expressed a decision during his/her lifetime). Thus, autonomy in this context depends on the person (who can make a decision while alive), the families (who should reach an agreement), the policy makers (who establish donation policies) and the HCP (who must respect the wishes of the person and/or his/her relatives). The second object of trust is the expectation that one will receive the best available treatment, in the sense that the HPC will try to save life first, provide optimal evidence-based care and respect the body. Finally, the third object of trust focuses on organ use. The potential donor trusts the HCP because they will perform a removal under the right conditions to ensure the viability of the organ. The potential donor also trusts the transplant system, which is responsible for ensuring that the organ is distributed fairly in order to save lives. Finally, the potential donor must trust society because it is necessary for other people to donate so that there will be organs for them or their loved ones if they need them