Organ Donation Among Health Care Providers: Is Giving and Receiving Similar?

Background: Health care providers encourage organ donation on a regular basis. The objective of this study was to analyze the coherence of the attitudes of health care providers toward organ donation, their willingness to receive organs and the differences among different health care practitioners and other hospital workers regarding to this ethical issue.

Methods: A 33-question survey was conducted among staff members from 9 different health care institutions in different sites from North and Central America. The confidential and anonymous questionnaire addressed personal opinions regarding organ donation as well as other ethical/religious issues.

Results: Of 858 surveys conducted, 853 were completed. Among the participants, physicians accounted for 21.1% (n = 180), nurses 37.1% (n = 317), and other hospital workers 41.7% (n = 356). Respondents were almost equally divided into organ donors 45.7% (n = 392) and nondonors 53.7% (n = 461). Doctors and nurses were significantly more likely to be organ donors than other hospital workers (P < .043). An overwhelming majority of responders would accept an organ transplant if required (90.2%; n = 774). Organ donors were more likely to accept an organ transplant if required than nonorgan donors (96.4% [n = 370] vs 88.7% [n = 400], respectively; P < .001).

Conclusions: Among health care providers, physicians and nurses tended to be more likely to be in favor of organ donation. The majority of the participants were willing to accept an organ, and there was a statistical correlation between disposition to donation and willingness to receive an organ.