Opinions of town residents on organ transplantation

Organ transplantation is connected with many very difficult ethical and social issues that evoke a lot of emotion. The aim of this work was to determine the knowledge and opinions of the 612 residents of selected towns in Podlaskie voivodeship (in northeastern Poland) on organ transplantation.

A diagnostic poll with the use of a survey questionnaire was implemented in the study. The respondents were divided into 2 groups (towns <100,000 and >100,000 residents).

Respondents from larger towns were more often willing to donate organs of close relatives for transplantation than those from small towns (67.1% vs 32.9%; P = .022). Respondents with higher education levels accepted organ donation from close relatives after their death significantly often than those with no more than a primary education (46.7% vs 22.2%; P < .001). Of the respondents, 83% would agree to donation after death and to donating their own organs (higher with primary education, 90.6% vs 63.5%; P < .001). Of respondents from big towns, 61.0% have informed their family of the decision for donation after death compared with 38.5% of respondents from small towns. Respondents with higher education significantly more often informed their family of such decision than persons with primary education (60.9% vs 42.9%; P < .007).

More emphasis should be on educating the communities living in small towns and people with primary and vocational education, because an adequate level of knowledge is a significant factor influencing the readiness to give one's organs for transplantation.