Observational Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2020. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. May 6, 2020; 8(9): 1620-1631
Published online May 6, 2020. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v8.i9.1620
Attitudes, knowledge levels and behaviors of Islamic religious officials about organ donation in Turkey: National survey study
Sami Akbulut, Ali Ozer, Betul Firinci, Hasan Saritas, Khaled Demyati, Sezai Yilmaz
Sami Akbulut, Ali Ozer, Betul Firinci, Department of Public Health, Inonu University Faculty of Medicine, Malatya 44280, Turkey
Sami Akbulut, Khaled Demyati, Sezai Yilmaz, Liver Transplant Institute, Inonu University, Malatya 44280, Turkey
Hasan Saritas, Department of Surgical Nursing, Inonu University Faculty of Nursing, Malatya 44280, Turkey
Khaled Demyati, Department of Surgery, An-Najah National University Hospital, An-Najah National University, Nablus 11941, Palestine
Author contributions: Akbulut S, Saritas H, Firinci B and Ozer A collected data; Akbulut S and Ozer A analyzed statistical; Akbulut S, Ozer A and Demyati K wrote manuscript; Akbulut S and Yilmaz S projected development and reviewed final version.
Supported by Inonu University Scientific Research Projects Coordination Unit, No. 2018/1024.
Institutional review board statement: This study was reviewed and approved by the Inonu University institutional review board for non-interventional studies (2018/1-9).
Informed consent statement: Verbal consent was obtained from all parents.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no conflicts of interest regarding this manuscript.
Data sharing statement: There are no additional data available for this study.
STROBE statement: The authors have read the STROBE Statement—checklist of items, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the STROBE Statement—checklist of items.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Sami Akbulut, MD, Associate Professor, Liver Transplant Institute, Inonu University, Elazig Yolu 10. Km, Malatya 44280, Turkey. akbulutsami@gmail.com
Received: December 25, 2019
Peer-review started: December 25, 2019
First decision: January 7, 2020
Revised: March 12, 2020
Accepted: April 24, 2020
Article in press: April 24, 2020
Published online: May 6, 2020
Processing time: 126 Days and 17.9 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

The most important factors affecting the decision of organ donation are socioeconomic, educational, cultural, and religious factors.

AIM

To evaluate Islamic religious officials’ attitudes and behaviors toward and level of knowledge on organ donation and transplantation.

METHODS

This study surveyed 2350 Islamic religious officials in Turkey. To ensure a representative sample, we used and modified the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics. Based on the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics-II, Turkey was divided into 26 regions. The number of Islamic religious officials in each city and town in each of the 26 regions was proportionate to the population. A stratified sampling method based on demographic factors, such as age, marital status, and educational level, was used. Data were collected by PRP Research and Consultancy Company using computer-assisted personal interviewing.

RESULTS

Of the 2350 religious officials surveyed, 59.9% were in the age group of 35-54 years; 84.7% had either a bachelor’s or a master’s degree; 99.7% never donated an organ; and 75.4% were not considering donating in the future. About 22% of the religious officials said religious belief was their reason for not donating; 45.3% did not indicate any reason. Although 41.5% of participants considered cadaveric organ donation as the best source of organ transplantation, 36.3% deemed living donor transplantation as the best option. Meanwhile, 52.9% of participants considered donating an organ from a brain dead relative in case they were asked for permission; 80.1% considered donating to a relative, if necessary; 81.6% considered undergoing organ transplantation, if necessary. About 83.7% of participants deemed organ donation as a proper human behavior; 60.5% believed that it is allowed by Islam; 55% said they preach for organ donation at their mosque; and 41.1% said their views of organ donation were influenced by their leaders in society.

CONCLUSION

Religious officials are unsure whether or not organ donation is respectful of their religious belief, but they consider donating an organ if a relative need to undergo organ transplantation.

Keywords: Organ transplant; Organ donation; Islamic religious officials; Religious beliefs; Barriers to organ donation; Awareness

Core tip: Organ shortage remains a major problem globally. The waiting list for organ transplantation has been expanding every day. The most important reason for this problem is insufficient organ donation. The most important factors affecting the decision of organ donation are socioeconomic, educational, cultural, and religious factors. In the present study, we aimed to evaluate the attitudes, level of knowledge and behaviors of Islamic religious officials toward organ donation and transplantation.