Cultural and Religious Influences on Organ Donation Attitudes Among Indian American Physicians and Medical Students

While 54% of the United States (US) population is registered as organ donors, only 0.01% of India's population is willing to donate. Indian American physicians' attitudes might reflect those of the general Indian-identifying US population, potentially inadvertently dissuading patients from organ donation. This study assessed whether attitudes toward organ donation differ between Indian American physicians/medical students and their non-Indian counterparts.

We administered an online survey to Indian American and non-Indian physicians and medical students at the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) 2023 medical conference, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, and St. Mary's County MedStar Shah Medical Group network.

A total of 172 individuals participated. Compared to their non-Indian counterparts, Indian American participants expressed less support for deceased (p = .002) and living (p = .006) organ donation. Hindus, constituting approximately 85% of our Indian American participants, were less supportive of deceased (p = .001) and living (p = .019) organ donation than non-Hindus. Additionally, Hindus expressed less agreement with the safety and efficacy of deceased organ donation than non-Hindus (p = .047). Participants who expressed concern over illegal organ trade also expressed less support for living organ donation (p < .05).

Our study suggests different attitudes towards organ donation between physicians and medical students of Indian vs. non-Indian origin. Indian-origin individuals and Hindus demonstrated weaker support towards organ donation. Identifying these differences can help when developing targeted quality improvement initiatives in organ donation advocacy and education.