A quantitative survey of Western Muslim attitudes to solid organ donation

It is imperative for healthcare providers to examine Western Muslim attitudes on organ donation, because they are reluctant donors. We explored such opinion with the aid of a quantitative survey.

Voluntary completion of an anonymous survey was promoted (online and paper sampling). For a population target of approximately 1.6 billion, we targeted a completed sample size of 664 to achieve 5% error margins and 99% confidence intervals (assuming 50% response distribution). Logistic regression analysis was performed to assess independent predictors for organ donation approval.

In total, 891 global Muslims took the survey with 728 full completions (81.7% completion rate). Paper survey (14% of total) response rate was 62% (124 completed/200 distributed). Western Muslims comprised 76% of participants (n=675) and formed the basis of the analysis. A total of 68.5% of Western Muslims agreed with organ donation, but just 39.3% believed it was compatible with Islam (only 12.7% were registered donors). A total of 1.9% would refuse an organ transplant if required, with 72.4% happy to receive and 25.7% undecided. The main constraints cited by Western Muslims were interpretation of religious scripture (76.5%) and advice from local mosque (70.2%). Predictors for organ donation approval among all global Muslims included younger age, lesser degree of self-rated religiosity, awareness of organ shortages, higher education, and knowing someone with kidney disease/dialysis (all P<0.05).

Concern exists among Western Muslims regarding organ donation. Our speculative work should form the basis of larger and more representative assessment of global Muslims to facilitate targeted initiatives to raise awareness.