An online explorative study towards parents’ opinions about organ donation: from individual decisions to family discussions

Abstract

Background: Parental decisions about organ donation by their child are influenced by many factors. One of these factors may be a previous discussion under non-crisis circumstances. The question then arises whether parents have thought about this topic for themselves and discussed it with each other or with their child. Methods: An initial exploratory Internet survey to explore these discussions, parental opinions about school lessons on donation, the age threshold for a child to decide about donation, and determinants that influence these aspects. Questionnaire was sent to 14,000 panel members. We selected respondents with children younger than 16 years old. Results: Questionnaire response rate was 35%. Of all 1146 respondents with children, 84% had discussed the topic with their partner and, on average, 46.5% had discussed this with their child aged 10-16 years old. Religion and educational level of the parents were not related. Sixty-nine percent of parents were positive towards school lessons. Most of the children were allowed to decide for themselves at the age of 15/16 years old. Conclusion: Family discussions between spouses about donation do occur frequently; however, discussion with children can be improved. If desired, triggers for beginning these conversations could be provided through public information and school education, which would also contribute to health literacy on this subject.