Organ Donor Registration Preferences Among Hispanic Populations: Which Modes of Registration Have the Greatest Promise?

Abstract

There is little debate over Hispanics' need for viable organs. Although organ donor registries can potentially assist in alleviating this need, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has called on researchers to investigate methods to maximize such potential. This research effort answers the aforementioned call by surveying Hispanics, both those who prefer to use Spanish (SP, n=239) and those who prefer not to use Spanish (NSP, n=364) about the methods of donor registration that they would most likely utilize. When provided with different options for organ donor registration, signing up by applying for a driver's license, through a place of worship, or through a doctor's office were among the most popular methods; over the telephone, tax forms, or through the use of home computer were among the least popular. Furthermore, the DHHS-suggested idea of registering via organ donor kiosks was very well received.

Contributing Factors for the Willingness to Donate Organs in the Hispanic American Population

“…Hispanic American individuals accounted for nearly half of the national population growth between 2000 and 20043 and it is estimated that they will constitute one-third of the American population by the end of this century 4. As expected, this population growth parallels a growth in transplant organ need.…”

“…We found that only 31% of the population expressed willingness to become an organ donor. This is far below the 46% intent to register seen in other Hispanic American communities, reinforcing the notion that Hispanic American individuals are not a homogeneous group and different communities may require different interventions 10. We found that independent contributing factors for the intent to become an organ donor included low acculturation, religion, belief that organ donation will disfigure the body and impact the funeral, perception that wealthy people are likely to receive organ transplants, family influence, and awareness of driver license registry.…”

“…As expected, this population growth parallels a growth in transplant organ need. Over the past decade, the number of Hispanic American individuals added to this organ waiting list has increased by more than 260% while the list involving non-Hispanic individuals has grown by 146% 4. Despite this growth, His-panic American individuals are still 60% less likely to donate their organs than non-Hispanic white individauls 4…”

Registration for deceased organ and tissue donation among Ontario immigrants: a population-based cross-sectional study

“…Low registration rates in specific immigrant groups may be influenced by many factors, including knowledge, attitude and awareness of organ donation, that were not measured in our study. The low registration rates may also have been due to unawareness of the registry 7,8 or fear of placing one's name in a large database 26 rather than a negative attitude toward organ donation. Second, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada's Permanent Resident Database contains only data recorded at the time of immigration.…”

Increasing Organ Donation in Hispanic Americans

“…3 A national organ shortage at crisis proportion requires attention to this gap to increase the number of registered donors. A large presence on the waiting list matched with a historic lack of intent to donate makes the Hispanic American community a prime population on whom to focus resources and educational efforts to increase the number of registered donors.…”