Perspectives of Religious Officials Working in a City Center on Organ Transplantation and Donation

Abstract

Aim: Although number of patients requiring organ and tissue transplantation is gradually increasing over time, number of organ donations is not sufficient to meet such requirement. This is due to gap in the knowledge regarding organ transplantation as well as individual or religious thoughts. Since some people avoid from organ donation because of their religious beliefs, religious officials play an important role in guiding such people by providing accurate information. In this study, it was aimed to determine perspectives on organ donation among religious officials. Methods: This descriptive study was conducted on 141 religious officials working in Yozgat province. A data sheet including sociodemographic characteristics such as age, gender, education level and a 20-item questionnaire about opinions on organ donation and transplantation were used for data collection. Results: Of participants, 62.4% reported that they have knowledge about organ donation; 54.6% reported that they learned from visual media; 64.5% reported that they do not know how to donate organ; and 72.3% reported that they wish to have knowledge about organ donation. Only 2.9% of participants were donors. Conclusion: Although level of knowledge was moderate in religious officials who have important role in organ donation, organ donation rate was comparable with general population. Keywords: Organ donation, organ transplantation, religious officials