Organ Donation in Turkey: The Knowledge, Approaches and Opinions of Family Physicians

Abstract

Background: Considering the gap between organ donors and receivers, it can be assumed that family physicians may play an important role in organ donation. Thus, we aimed to investigate the family physicians’ approaches to organ donation in Turkey. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, an online survey was sent to all family physicians working in Family Health Centers in Turkey Between Jul – Sep 2018. The survey questioned the knowledge, approaches, and opinions about organ donation issues, besides the socio-demographic characteristics. Results: Most physicians stated that they had given information to their patients on this subject at least occasionally (59.19%, n=998). Among participants, the most common reason for refusing consent for organ donation was the fear of commercial abuse (19.66%, n=244). Most participants (52.61%, n=887) stated that they had been positively affected by the media about organ donation. Some physicians were uncertain about the reliability of the brain death diagnosis (18.39%, n=310). A minor group stated that organ donation might be religiously inappropriate (10.50%, n=177). Conclusion: Although most of the family physicians had a positive manner about organ donation, there was still some wrong knowledge of the participants about legal and medical aspects of organ donation, as well as some other concerns like organ trafficking and reliability of brain death diagnoses, whereas religious concerns were not significant.