Kidney organ donation knowledge and attitudes among health care professionals: Findings from a Greek general hospital

Organ Donation Knowledge and Attitudes among Health Science Students in Greece: Emerging Interprofessional Needs

“…The above findings are also in agreement with those from a Greek general hospital study in the following aspects: 1) healthcare professionals were eager to register, but admitted having limited knowledge about registering as a kidney donor, 2) more physicians (7%) than nurses (3%) declared holding donor cards, 3) overall registration rates were lower than expected 16. In another Greek general practice study, patients with a donor card accounted for only 2.6%, with one out of four intending to carry out their right to prohibit organ removal upon death 17.…”

“…Yet, the overall number of donor card holders remained very low, with almost three out of ten students perceiving the act of carrying a donor card as tempting death. These outcomes are not unexpected given that Greek undergraduate curricula in medicine, nursing and other health disciplines do not systematically address organ donation 16,18.…”

“…Their findings have been disturbing in terms of low organ donation rates, but not unexpected, given the fragmentation of healthcare services, the haphazard nature of attempted reform and the absence of extensive debate among policy makers, healthcare professionals and the public. The implied shortcomings of Greek undergraduate medical and nursing curricula in systematically addressing issues of organ donation promotion, recruitment, procurement and donor/recipient needs were particularly intriguing 16,18.…”

Knowledge, Attitudes, and Willingness Toward Organ Donation Among Health Professionals in China

“…Research has showed that higher medical education was associated to positive attitude toward organ donation and increased willingness to donate. 11,19,30 This helps to explain why, in our study population, doctors with more knowledge had higher positive attitude and willingness to organ donation than nurses and nonclinical staff members. This is important because not only do doctors have a direct responsibility to promote organ donation but also the rest of the staff have an important impact on the population.…”

“…19 Despite the critical importance of health professional support in this arena, there is a paucity of data in the literature regarding the attitudes of Chinese health professionals toward organ donation. This study is limited by its relatively small sample size and lack of geographic diversity.…”