Attitudes of European students towards family decision-making and the harmonisation of consent systems in deceased organ donation: a cross-national survey

Abstract

Background European countries are increasingly harmonising their organ donation and transplantation policies. Although a growing number of nations are moving to presumed consent to deceased organ donation, no attempts have been made to harmonise policies on individual consent and the role of the family in the decision-making process. Little is known about public awareness of and attitudes towards the role of the family in their own country and European harmonisation on these health policy dimensions. To improve understanding of these issues, we examined what university students think about the role of the family in decision-making in deceased organ donation and about harmonising consent policies within Europe. Methods Using LimeSurvey© software, we conducted a comparative cross-sectional international survey of 2193 university students of health sciences and humanities/social sciences from Austria (339), Belgium (439), Denmark (230), Germany (424), Greece (159), Romania (190), Slovenia (190), and Spain (222). Results Participants from opt-in countries may have a better awareness of the family’s legal role than those from opt-out countries. Most respondents opposed the family veto, but they were more ambivalent towards the role of the family as a surrogate decision-maker. The majority of participants were satisfied with the family’s legal role. However, those who were unsatisfied preferred to limit family involvement. Overall, participants were opposed to the idea of national sovereignty over consent policies. They favoured an opt-out policy harmonisation and were divided over opt-in. Their views on harmonisation of family involvement were consistent with their personal preferences. Conclusions There is overall division on whether families should have a surrogate role, and substantial opposition to granting them sole authority over decision-making. If European countries were to harmonise their policies on consent for organ donation, an opt-out system that grants families a surrogate decision-making role may enjoy the widest public support.

Why whole body gestational donation must be rejected: a response to Smajdor

“…In contrast, WBGD, even if one accepts that there is no undue influence, is still ethically dubious according to a family-centered ethics approach. Some European studies have examined the role of the family and the assessment of patient autonomy in organ donation [ 5 ]. What they found is that there are distinct ways of valuing autonomy and family relationships across European regions, such as the authority of the family to overrule the deceased patient’s last wishes.…”

Studentų, studijuojančių ne sveikatos mokslus, žinios ir požiūris į organų donorystę

“…Tyrimas taip pat parodė, kad apklaustųjų pagrindiniai informacijos apie organų donorystę šaltiniaisocialiniai tinklai ir internetas [1]. Kitų Europos šalių -Austrijos, Belgijos, Danijos, Graikijos, Ispanijos, Vokietijos, Rumunijos, Slovėnijos ir Ispanijos universitetų studentai, nepaisant aukštojo išsilavinimo, sunkiai supranta šeimos narių indėlį ir jų sutikimo bei sprendimo priėmimo svarbą organų transplantacijos procese [10]. Remiantis 2020 m. LR sveikatos apsaugos ministro įsakymu patvirtintu planu dėl 2020-2025 m. organų donorystės paslaugų plėtros ir donorystės skatinimo [12], galima teigti, kad organų donorystės klausimas lieka aktualus ir reikalaujantis tinkamų priemonių parinkimo donorams pritraukti.…”