To explore the establishment of a cooling off period in the process of living organ donation based on the Delphi method.

Through literature review and expert discussion, the definition, classification, and grouping suggestions for the cooling off period of living organ donation have been preliminarily determined. A questionnaire was distributed via email, and after three rounds of consultation, consensus was reached on the definition, classification, and grouping methods of the cooling off period, and the duration of the cooling off period was determined.

The cooling off period for living organ donation referred to the shortest time interval between obtaining all necessary information about organ donation and submitting an application for living organ donation for the intended donor. Living organ donation was divided into three categories: (1) liver donation; (2) lung donation; (3) kidney donation/small intestine donation/pancreas donation. Liver donation was divided into high-risk, medium-risk, and low-risk groups based on the model for end-stage liver disease score and pediatric end-stage liver disease score of organ recipients. Lung donation aged ≥ 12 years was divided into high-risk, medium-risk, and low-risk groups based on the lung allocation score of organ recipients, while aged<12 years was divided into high-risk and low-risk groups based on medical urgency. Kidney donation/small intestine donation/pancreas donation were not grouped. The cooling off period for high-risk liver and lung donation groups was 1 d, for medium-risk groups was 7 d, and for low-risk groups was 14 d. The cooling off period for kidney donation/small intestine donation/pancreas donation was 14 d.

Based on three rounds of Delphi method consultation, the definition, classification and grouping method, and duration setting of the cooling off period for living organ donation were determined.