[Readiness for organ donation: analysis of a survey for health themes]

Currently, organ transplantation is the treatment of choice for patients with chronic or acute organ failure. However, due to a lack of donor organs, every day three patients die on the waiting list for transplantation. At the same time there is a high potential of organ donors that is not utilized. Statements concerning the number of potential donors are possible only to a limited extent at present. Objective of this study was to collect the rate of holders of organ donor cards among the employees of the city of Essen before a targeted awareness raising campaign had been carried out.

A questionnaire was sent out to the employees of the city of Essen in 2007. Gender, age and the "indicator for readiness for organ donation" were stratified and analyzed according to the holding of organ donor cards. The indicator reflects the evaluation of health awareness in the respondents.

Altogether, 1 814 questionnaires were evaluated. 20 % of the respondents were holding an organ donor card at the time of the survey. No association between gender (p-value 0.17) respectively age (p-value 0.79) and the possession of an organ donor card could be detected. 23 % of the respondents who regularly worked out or donated blood were identified as organ donor card holders. This is significantly more (p-value < 0.0001) than in respondents where this criterion did not apply.

In order to optimize the potential of organ donors in the long term, it is necessary to reconsider and advance attitude towards the readiness for organ donation. Further spreading of information and education as well as transparency in the transplantation medicine are essential for this project.