The Knowledge, Attitude and Behaviour of Individuals Regarding Organ Donations

AIM: The number of patients awaiting organ donations is increasing every day. However, the number of organ-tissue donations is significantly lower than the number of patients waiting for organ donations. The necessary organs cannot be provided to patients awaiting donors on time and result in them losing their lives because the people in our country do not have sufficient knowledge regarding organ donations. This descriptive study was conducted in order to determine the knowledge, attitude and behaviour of individuals regarding donations. METHODS: This descriptive study was conducted between April - June 2011 in order to determine the knowledge, attitude and behaviour of individuals regarding donations. This study was conducted with the participation of 675 individuals in Erzurum chosen using a simple random sampling method. Data, collected using a questionnaire, was analysed using percentages and the chi-square test. RESULTS: 95.7% of individuals had not donated their organs, 21.2% of individuals were thinking of donating their organs, and 44.6% of individuals were indecisive. The attitude young people (aged 30 and below) (25.2%) had towards donating was significantly different (p<0.001). The rate of possible donation increased with the increase in the level of education (p<0.001). Most individuals that women (23.7%), that are employed (21.4%), that believe donating is important (22.5%), that have close relatives awaiting transplants (29.2%), that believe they have knowledge regarding donations (34.5%), that have witnessed people donating (35.2%), that would like to be informed about donations (13.1%) are thinking of donating; there was a statistically significant relationship between groups (p< 0.05). CONCLUSION :The majority of individuals stated that they had some knowledge about organ donating, they were not donors, and they were indecisive about donating their organ. [TAF Prev Med Bull 2014; 13(2.000): 133-140