Kantianism, Intercultural Differences, and Attitudes Toward Organ Donation Among First-Year Nursing Students

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to evaluate if there are any intercultural differences between Polish and African students in perceiving some ethical issues of intensive therapy. Moreover, the influence of traits included in the Light Triad Scale (LTS) on these issues was checked. MATERIAL AND METHODS Forty-two Polish (PL) and 40 African (mainly Zimbabwe) English division (ED) first-year nursing students fulfilled a short survey containing LTS and 3 questions (with possible answers 1=strongly disagree to 5=strongly agree): (1) "Brain death does not exist". (2) "I would like to be an organ donor for transplantation if my brain dies". (3) "Each patient should be intensively treated even if the treatment is a source of extra suffering and there is no hope for full recovery". RESULTS The acceptance for being an organ donor was significantly lower in the ED group (r=-0.528; P<0.001). Moreover, LTS Kantianism (perceiving others as "ends in themselves") correlated negatively with answers to the question "Brain death does not exist" (rho=-0.283; P=0.010*). It means those who do not believe in brain death tend to have lower Kantianism level. CONCLUSIONS There are numerous factors affecting attitudes toward organ donation in different countries (differences in education, traditional and religious beliefs, legal and ethical issues). According to the data, personality is another important field. What is interesting, there is no correlation between consideration of brain death and attitude toward becoming a donor. ED students usually believe in brain death but still rarely accept organ donation.