Attitudes to Organ Donation and Transplantation: An Insight From Jordan

Organ donation rates in the Arabicspeaking world remain low; however, little is known about why. This study adapted an existing questionnaire into Arabic to improve understanding of perceived barriers to donation as a step toward increasing donation rates.

We developed and validated an Arabic version of a published questionnaire, and we used this to collect data on knowledge and attitudes toward organ and tissue donation and transplantation, as well as reasons for the beliefs among adults in Jordan. The questionnaire was circulated through various Facebook groups.

The questionnaire was completed by 404 Jordanian adults. Factor analysis indicated that a 3-factor model was suitable for the present study. These factors were Organ Donation Attitude, Organ Transplantation Attitude, and Fear of Health Outcomes. Generally, knowledge of organ donation was good, although only some respondents were aware of the opt-out system. Attitudes toward donation were favorable, with very few respondents reporting that religious or cultural beliefs would prevent them from donating organs. One surprising finding was that one-third of respondents expressed some degree of distrust of health services.

Efforts to improve organ donation in the Arab world remain in development. We found a substantial awareness of organ donation and largely favorable views of it among selected adults in Jordan. This indicates a need to shift focus away from education and perceived religious and cultural barriers and refocus instead on the concerns regarding distrust of health services by the general population.