Attitude to organ donation among healthcare workers in Nigeria.

Introduction: As transplantation services are scaled up in Nigeria so will the need for organ donation. Crucial to the success of organ donation is the attitude of healthcare workers (HCW); this was determined in the present study.

Methods: HCW participating in three workshops were requested to complete a pretested questionnaire structured to elicit their attitude to organ donation. Predictors of willingness to donate were also determined.

Results: Of the 205 questionnaires distributed, 182 (88.8%) were returned; 10 were excluded for incomplete responses. The mean age of the respondents was 39.9 (8.9) yr. The majority were females (76.7%), Christians (87.8%), and worked in tertiary hospitals (77.3%). Medical doctors made up 55% of the respondents. Of the 172 respondents, 102 (59.3%) reported willingness to donate an organ. The majority of Muslims respondents willing to donate would prefer living donation. Being a medical doctor (odds ratio of 2.64 [1.17-5.94]) was the strongest predictor of willingness to donate an organ. The most common reasons for unwillingness to donate were "fear of complications" (44.9%) and "mistrust of the health sector" (20.6%).

Conclusion: The majority of the HCW are favorable to organ donation. Being a medical doctor is highly predictive of willingness to donate an organ.