Fig. 5

Trust relationships from the health professional’s perspective. Professionals involved in ODT must trust that the patients’ families understand what is being communicated to them (e.g. the diagnosis of death). Also, this comprehended knowledge triggers autonomous and informed decisions (authorisations or refusals). And even more relevant, HCP must believe when relatives act as witnesses that they are telling the truth with respect to their own wishes to donate and with respect to the wishes of the deceased person. On the other hand, HCP professionals must rely on the professionalism of their peers for the whole transplantation process to work. For example, the surgeon who removes the organs must be confident that the diagnosis of brain death has been well established by the scientific community and the professional who diagnosed it in that patient. In another sense, for transplantation to work, HCP must be convinced that it serves a good purpose. This means that the whole transplant system works well and that the organs removed are not wasted, are distributed fairly, and improve or save someone’s life. In addition, HCP must trust that society will continue to donate and organs will be generated for transplantation. Finally, health professionals must be confident that their work is recognised by the policy makers and compensated with a fair financial return for the effort invested, and that labour laws provide decent working conditions