Organ donation and transplantation: ethnic differences in knowledge and opinions among urban high school students

To assess knowledge and opinions about the process of human organ donation and transplantation among American teenagers.

A culturally sensitive 35-item self-administered survey assessing knowledge, opinions, and family discussion about organ donation and transplantation was conducted with 247 students in 13 separate classrooms encompassing three urban high schools in the same city.

More than 50% of the students did not know the correct answers to 13 of the 16 questions on factual knowledge. The sources of information about organ donation and transplantation among students were primarily television and school. African-Americans and Asian-Americans were significantly less likely to want to become organ donors when compared to non-African-Americans and non-Asian-Americans, respectively. Asian-Americans were significantly less likely to have discussed the matter with family members.

Accurate, up-to-date, culturally sensitive youth-oriented health education that emphasizes family discussions about organ donation and transplantation is needed.