Published online Jun 6, 2020. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v8.i11.2235
Peer-review started: March 12, 2020
First decision: April 25, 2020
Revised: May 4, 2020
Accepted: May 26, 2020
Article in press: May 26, 2020
Published online: June 6, 2020
Organ transplant waiting lists continue to increase yearly, and the unavailability of adequate organs for transplantation to meet the existing demand has resulted in a major shortage. Public awareness of organ donation and knowledge about organ procurement fundamentally affects the organ transplantation programs and is positively correlated with signing an organ donor card. To improve the supply of donor organs, continued efforts and strategic planning are required; however, little is known about the attitudes and knowledge of the Turkish general population. As a consequence, there is insufficient knowledge of what characterizes and distinguishes people’s viewpoints, and how this could inform the development of adequate and effective policies to promote organ donation.
A large number of patients with organ failure die while on the waiting list because of the lack of available organs; many also become too sick for transplant while waiting and get dropped from the list. We aimed to evaluate the attitudes, awareness, and knowledge levels of the Turkish adult population toward organ donation to determine strategies and to highlight issues important for policies-makers to change attitudes and behaviors, and to promote organ donation and reduce the organ shortage in the country.
The main objective of this study was to evaluate attitudes, awareness, and knowledge levels of the Turkish adult population. Data from this study could help analyze people’s viewpoints and to uncover possible barriers to organ donation, which might exist in the community.
We surveyed 3000 adult individuals in Turkey. To ensure a representative sample, we used Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics. Adult individuals were distributed equally between city centers and towns based on relative population densities. Data were collected by PRP Research and Consultancy Company using computer-assisted personal interviewing.
This study showed that only 33.9% of the respondents thought that they had enough information regarding organ donation, with 36.7% indicating that they had no information at all about organ donation. The three main sources of information were found to be television programs, internet platforms, and healthcare professionals. The majority of participants (88.3%) said that they would not consider donating an organ in the future. Reasons not to donate included: It was too soon to decide on organ donation, concerns about body deterioration, religious beliefs, and concerns about procedure errors like removing organs before brain death. While the majority would not consider donating an organ, most (87.9%) said they would accept an organ donation if they suffered from organ failure, and the majority (67%) said they would donate an organ to a close relative.
In conclusion, our results showed that the general population in Turkey has inadequate information on organ donation, and must be better informed before an adequate increase in organ donation rate can be expected. Many barriers to organ donation were identified, including misperceptions and misinformation related to donation procedures and religious views with regard to organ donation and body integrity. This further stresses the importance of education to clarify information and overcome the existing barriers to organ donation.
The general populations in Turkey have inadequate information and have many misperceptions and misinformation on organ donation. Further studies are needed to test the effectiveness of education in changing attitude and improving donation rate in the country.