Who would and who would not become a living kidney donor?

"Introduction: Living donor transplantation is a more and more frequent medical intervention. Beyond the medical issues, living organ donation raises psychosocial questions about the donors and their motivation. Objective: Our aim was to reveal the attitude, knowledge and beliefs regarding living kidney donation. Moreover to reveal the main determining factors of living donation willingness, such as relatedness to the recipient, personality traits, personal values, well-being and purpose in life. Method: The cross-sectional study included 571 Hungarian citizens. The online questionnaire included questions regarding the attitude, knowledge and beliefs, and the Schwartz Value Survey, the Big Five Inventory, the WHO-5 Well-Being Index and the Purpose in Life questionnaire. Results: The majority of the participants would donate their kidney alive to relatives and friends, the fewest people would not donate at all, and 16.8% of the participants would donate even to a stranger. Most participants knew (71.8%) that kidney is the most often transplanted organ and also most often donated alive. Willingness to donate alive showed significant association with the relatedness (r = 0.187), personal values (Self-transcendence) (r = 0.208), and weak association with the knowledge (r = 0.104). The association was significant between knowledge and beliefs about the donors (r = –0.352, r = 0.136). Based on the multiple linear regression analysis, the personal value (Selftranscendence) (β = 0.218) and the negative belief that donors have a worse state of health after donation (β = –0.207), are weak, significant predictors of willingness to donate kidney alive. Discussion: The intention to become a living kidney donor is associated with the beliefs, which are connected to the knowledge, and the knowledge is associated with the relatedness. Moreover the willingness to become a living donor is associated with the good intention, the desire to help others and social responsibility. Conclusion: The knowledge and the factors of personal values, such as good intention and social responsibility, play a main role in the intention to become a living donor."