Examining Attitudes on Organ Donation for Transplant: Amenability to Financial Incentives and Donor Benefits

The Uniform Anatomical Gift Act (UAGA) currently outlaws the sale of organs for transplant purposes, despite the technological advances since its inception in 1968 and the current disparity between the need for and availability of organs. Increasingly, research has been done to determine interest in and feasibility of financial incentives and donor benefits. The author of the current study developed a self-report survey gauging attitudes towards live and post-mortem donation in general, and towards potential alternatives to the organ donation system involving financial incentives and donor benefits. Students at a large Midwestern university were asked about their likelihood of use of alternative programs, as well as demographic questions, including gender, race/ethnicity, and prior experience with organ donation, in hopes of determining which populations are most amenable to alternatives. In bivariate analyses, the study found that gender had no bearing on likelihood of use for the current system or for alternative systems. Moreover, white non-Hispanics were more likely than other racial ethnic groups to donate in various incentive programs. Also, those without previous experience with organ or tissue donation were more likely than those with experience to donate if paid by the recipient for live organs. Finally, being registered as an organ donor was shown to increase likelihood of organ donation in various programs. Gender, previous experience, and registration status were used in three-way factorial designs and demonstrated interactions, indicating that the variables may require a higher-order effect to demonstrate demographic differences. Mentor: Dr. Susan Jacobs, School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, University of Nebraska-Omah