Determination of the factors affecting organ donation: Voluntary organ donors

In Turkey, even if a person wishes to be an organ donor while alive, approval from the family is required after brain death. Therefore, many potential organ donations are lost as approval cannot be obtained from the family of the deceased. The aim of this study was to determine the factors affecting organ donation.

A total of 219 organ donation documents of Voluntary Organ Donors (VOD) were examined in a public hospital. The information examined included the age, gender, occupation, marital status, and place of birth of the donor, the number of organs donated, and the person from whom permission should be requested after brain death.

Of the total organ donors, 62.6% were aged 19-25 years, 67.6% had a high level of education, 35.6% stated that permission should be sought from their father, and 69% were born in the Mediterranean region. A significant relationship was determined between age and the number of organs donated (p < 0.05).

It can be recommended that education about organ transplantation and donation is given in regions where donor rates are low and there are groups with a high mean age, and a low education level of nurses. It could also be effective for nurses to lead organ donation campaigns to be able to increase the number of donations.