Does religious attitude affect organ donation and transplantation?

While the reasons for opposition to organ donation and transplantation include several factors such as socioeconomc status, education and culture, religious belief has been reported to be the most important factor.

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of the religious attitude on organ donation and transplantation.

The study universe of this descriptive and relational study comprised adults living in the city centre of Kahramanmaraş. To give 99% power and a significance level of α = 0.05, the sample was formed of 406 individuals who agreed to participate in the study between February and March 2021. The study data were collected using a Personal Information Form, the Religious Attitudes Scale, and the Organ Donation Attitude Scale. In the data analysis, descriptive statistics were stated as mean and standard deviation values, number, and percentage. Correlation and regression analyses were performed to determine the relationship between religious belief and attitude to organ donation and transplantation.

The study participants comprised 84% females, 76.82% were aged 18-28 years, 92.1% were university graduates and 71.7% were not working. Of the total participants, 86.0% stated that nobody close to them had undergone organ transplantation, 92.6% that nobody close to them was waiting for organ transplantation, 50.7% that they had received positive information from a religious perspective about organ donation, 82.0% that they had not sought information themselves about organ donation, 67.2% that they had received no education about organ transplantation, 46% that they found the education given sufficient, 66.7% that they knew about the organ and tissue donation system, and 49.0% that they thought official approval was not required for organ donation. As a result of the correlation and regression analyses, a statistically significant relationship was determined between religious attitude and the subdimension of fear of medical neglect in the the Organ Donation Attitude Scale (p < 0.05).

The results of this study demonstrated a relationship between religious attitudes and the attitude to organ transplantation. In the light of this result it can be recommended that a multidisciplinary team is established, including nurses and religious clerics, for the public to have correct information for the evaluation of organ transplantation from a religious perspective and to eliminate the concerns of society on this subject.