Knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of healthcare workers about organ donation

Introduction and Objective: Organ transplantation is the most important treatment method in terms of improvement survival and quality of life of patients suffering from organ failure. The aim of this study was to determine the knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of healthcare workers regarding organ donation. Materials and Methods: This descriptive study conducted between March-June 2016 with healthcare workers working in two university-affiliated hospitals in Turkey. The study was conducted in two phases: in the first phase, healthcare workers were asked whether they consider donating their organs or not. In the next phase, a survey comprising questions about sociodemographic characteristics, knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors regarding organ donation was conducted. Results: Of 460 healthcare workers in the first phase of the study, 90 (19,57%) considered to donate at least one of their organs and had an organ donor card. Participants in the second phase (n=85) were between 26-30 years old, 68 (%77,5) of them were female gender and 59 (%66,6) of them were nurse (profession). There were only 16 (%21,4) participants who have really donated their organs. The reason for not donation an organ, 30 (39,3%) of the participant did not feel ready, 20 (34,2%) of them had never thought about it and 48 (56,5%) of them believed that no one other than patients waiting for an organ or tissue is interested in organ donation. Conclusion: The sense of organ donation of healthcare workers and their knowledge was found to be significantly poor