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Issuing donor cards in a single center in Iran: results of the first 3 years
K Najafizadeh1, M Shiehmorteza, M M Mohamad
1Lung Transplantation Research Center, National Research Institute of TB and Lung Disease, Shaheed Beheshti Medical University, Tehran, Iran. katynajafi@gmail.com
Insights
Organ donation card issuance in Iran increased significantly over three years, with nearly 200,000 cards issued. This highlights growing community engagement in brain-dead organ donation programs.
Area of Science:
- Medical Research
- Public Health Initiatives
- Transplantation Science
Background:
- Organ donation cards are crucial for addressing organ shortages.
- Card issuance reflects community attitudes towards brain-dead organ donation.
- This study analyzes organ donation card characteristics in Iran.
Purpose of the Study:
- To characterize organ donation card issuance trends.
- To understand volunteer demographics and motivations.
- To inform future brain-dead donation strategies in Iran.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of a 3-year organ donation willingness database (August 2005 - July 2008).
- Extracted demographic data, intended donations, and referral sources.
- Focused on data from a single organ procurement unit in Iran.
Main Results:
- 172,290 organ donation cards issued (mean 4,785/month).
- 54.2% female volunteers; 50.7% aged 21-30; 35.2% with < high school education.
- High willingness to donate all organs (94.1%), particularly heart, kidney, liver, and lungs.
- Increasing trend in card issuance observed over the study period.
Conclusions:
- A single center issued nearly 200,000 organ donation cards in 3 years.
- The rising rate of organ donor card issuance supports the need for funding procurement units.
- Findings provide valuable insights for developing brain-dead donation programs in Iran.
Introduction:
Issuing an organ donation card has become a goal for procurement units to solve the organ shortage. The number of issued cards is an index of the attitudes or even actions of communities toward brain-dead donations. In the present study, we have reported the characteristics of issuing organ donation cards in a single organ procurement unit in Iran.
Materials And Methods:
This retrospective study used an organ donation willingness database for 3 years after launching the unit. We used the registration data of the first 3 years of its activity from August 1, 2005, to July 31, 2008. For each organ donation volunteer, we extracted demographic data, organs to be donated, and source of their knowledge about the organ donation card system.
Results:
During the study period, donor cards were issued to 172,290 volunteers; a monthly mean of 4785 registries. Among the total volunteers, 54.2% were females: with 50.7% between 21 to 30 years, 35.2% with an educational level less than a high school diploma, and 35.7% introduced by their friends. The volunteers were more willing to donate heart, kidney, liver, lung, and tissue donations, respectively. Out of the total number of volunteers, 94.1% were willing to donate all organs. An increasing trend was seen in the donation cards issued during the study period.
Conclusion:
Following 3 years of activity, a single center has issued nearly 200,000 cards. The rate at which organ donor cards are issued is increasing, which puts emphasis on establishment of funding for other organ procurement units. This information may be useful to program the field of brain-dead donations in this country.
