Do the myths still exist? Revisiting people’s negative beliefs about organ donation upon death

Abstract

The prevalence of myths preventing people partial to donation in Australia from consenting is unknown. Respondents (N = 468: 381 donors, 26 non-donors, 61 undecided) were surveyed about their (negative) donation beliefs. Approximately 30% of donors were neutral or supported negative beliefs about organ allocation, especially donation to undesirable organ recipients and a black market organ trade. Confusion about brain death, lack of family and religious support, and discomfort with donation were negative beliefs endorsed by some respondents irrespective of donor preference. Proportionally, donors had greater trust in hospitals/doctors than other groups. Some myths still exist but may vary with donation preference.

The Potential (F)utility of a Passive Organ Donor Registration Opportunity

“…However, people also fear harm due to being a registered donor and often do not like thinking about death. 13 Given that activated beliefs hold the strongest influence over behavior, 14 it is critical to ensure positive aspects of donation are top-of-mind (ie, favorable activation, the fourth component of the IIFF Model). We now turn the focus of the current study, the first component of the model, an ICRO.…”

Attitude and knowledge about Organ Donation among Nurses in Croatia, A Single-center Cross-sectional Study

“…Negative opinions of nurses about organ donation mostly come from less developed countries or countries of other culture and religion. Reasons for not donating are mostly religious, fear of surgery, mutilation of the body, nancial, family disagreement, existence of the black market, ignorance and distrust of state policy, as well as existence of various myths about organ donation [40][41][42][43][44][45].…”

Donar, un cambio de vida: comprender la experiencia de familiares que aceptaron la donación de órganos

“…Respecto de las creencias religiosas, en nuestro estudio la fe y la religión son coadyuvantes a la decisión, sin embargo, también es una de las causas descrita por familias para rechazar la donación [10][11][12][13]17,18 . El impacto de la decisión genera consecuencias familiares [2][3][4][5][6] , lo cual corroboramos también en los relatos, una experiencia positiva con la donación provoca un cambio favorable en toda la familia 15,19,20 , convirtiéndose en agentes activos y líderes de opinión.…”

“…Respecto de las representaciones socioculturales de la donación, el miedo a la mutilación del cuerpo, al tráfico de órganos y la falta de trasparencia son elementos desmotivadores y que se repiten en los estudios realizados en todas las culturas 2,10,13,15,18,21,22 . La necesidad de apoyo emocional se solicita durante el proceso 6,22,23 .…”