Deceased Donor Organs: What Can Be Done to Raise Donation Rates Using Evidence From Malaysia?

Area of Science:

• Social Psychology
• Health Policy
• Medical Sociology

Background:

• Global organ donation rates are insufficient to meet demand, particularly in developing economies.
• Social psychological theories offer potential frameworks for understanding and improving organ donation willingness.
• Malaysia, a developing economy, faces challenges in meeting organ donation needs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze evidence from a developing economy (Malaysia) to explore the utility of social psychological theory in addressing organ donation shortfalls.
• To identify key cognitive and noncognitive factors influencing willingness to donate deceased organs among Malaysians.
• To provide data-driven recommendations for enhancing organ donation rates.

Main Methods:

• A large-scale survey (n = 10,412) was conducted using convenience sampling.
• The study targeted increasing organ donor registration with the Ministry of Health, Malaysia.
• Structural equation modeling was employed to analyze the influence of various factors on donation willingness.

Main Results:

• Cognitive factors (donation perception, socioeconomic status, financial incentives) and noncognitive factors (demography, fear) significantly correlated with willingness to donate organs (p < 0.01).
• Donation perception demonstrated the highest impact on willingness to donate.
• Cash rewards showed the least impact among financial incentives.

Conclusions:

• Enhancing organ donation rates can be achieved by improving donation perception through effective pedagogic programs.
• Simultaneous improvements in the quality of services provided by medical personnel involved in organ retrieval and transplantation are crucial.
• A multi-faceted approach, combining education and service quality enhancement, is recommended to increase deceased organ donation.