Attitudes, awareness, and knowledge levels of the Turkish adult population toward organ donation: Study of a nationwide survey

Table 1 Demographic and sociocultural features of 3000 Turkish adult population

Demographic features	n (%)
Gender
Male	1465 (48.8)
Female	1535 (51.2)
Age (yr)
18-34	1065 (35.5)
35-44	705 (23.5)
45-54	548 (18.3)
≥ 55	682 (22.7)
Marrital status
Married	2163 (72.1)
Unmarried	752 (25.1)
Divorced	85 (2.8)
Educational level
Unschooled	194 (6.6)
Primary school	504 (16.8)
Secondary school	271 (9.0)
High school	1079 (36.0)
Associate’s degree	292 (9.7)
Bachelor’s degree	622 (20.7)
Master’s degree	24 (0.8)
Doctorate degree	11 (0.4)
Career
Employed (private sector)	1025 (34.1)
Housewife	574 (19.1)
Retired	324 (10.8)
Employed (public sector)	313 (10.4)
Tradesman	286 (9.5)
Unemployed	205 (6.8)
Students	187 (6.2)
Lawyer, architect, engineer, doctor	59 (2.0)
Farmer	27 (0.9)
Monthly income
≤ 2000 TL	597 (19.9)
2000-4000 TL	1734 (57.8)
4000-5000 TL	243 (8.1)
≥ 5000 TL	304 (10.1)
No response	122 (4.1)

Table 2 Organ donation information of 3000 Turkish adult population

Organ donation information	n (%)
Have you donated your organs?
Yes	22 (0.7)
No	2978 (99.3)
Are you willing to donate your organs in future?
Yes	146 (4.9)
No	2629 (88.3)
Undecided	203 (6.8)
Do you have any relatives on transplantation waiting list?
Yes	33 (1.1)
No	2905 (96.8)
No idea/No sure	62 (2.1)
Did any of your relatives have organ transplantation?
Yes	42 (1.4)
No	2895 (96.5)
No idea/No sure	63 (2.1)
Would you accept organ transplantation if it is necessary?
Yes	2637 (87.9)
No	124 (4.1)
No idea/No sure	239 (8.0)
Do you think you have adequate information on brain death?
Yes	1415 (47.2)
No	867 (28.9)
No idea/No sure	718 (23.9)
Do you think that a patient with brain death may recover?
Yes	335 (11.2)
No	1979 (66.0)
No idea/No sure	686 (22.8)
Would you give consent to organ donation of the relatives?
Yes	225 (7.5)
No	2555 (85.2)
No idea/No sure	220 (7.3)
Do you think that it is appropriate to use homeless people organs after death?
Yes	1406 (46.8)
No	1090 (36.3)
No idea/No sure	504 (16.8)
Are you willing to donate your organs to unrelated people when necessary?
Yes	804 (26.8)
No	1281 (42.7)
No idea/No sure	915 (30.5)
Are you willing to donate your organs to close relatives when necessary?
Yes	2010 (67.0)
No	375 (12.5)
No idea/No sure	615 (20.5)
Is it important for you to whom your organs will be transplanted if you donate it?
Yes	1066 (35.5)
No	1715 (57.2)
No idea/No sure	219 (7.3)
Do you have adequate information about organ donation?
Yes	1017 (33.9)
No	1101 (36.7)
No idea/No sure	882 (29.4)
Do religion leaders views affect your donation perspective?
Yes	890 (29.6)
Partially	413 (13.8)
No	1697 (56.6)
Do opinion leaders' views affect your decision to donate organs?
Yes	745 (24.9)
Partially	421 (14.0)
No	1834 (61.1)
Which is the most ideal type of organ transplantation?
Living donor (family member, relatives, non-related, etc.)	851 (28.4)
Deceased donor	1107 (36.9)
No idea/No sure	1042 (34.7)
What are your reasons to refuse organ donation?
It's too early for me to think about organ donation	846 (28.5)
Body integrity can deteriorated after death	533 (17.9)
My organs can be harvested before brain death	343 (11.5)
Familial and social causes	286 (9.6)
My organs might use for commercial purposes	262 (8.8)
Religious beliefs	257 (8.6)
My organs might get into the hands of the mafia	213 (7.2)
I have never considered organ donation	181 (6.1)
Health problems	155 (5.2)
Distrust against health institutions	158 (5.3)
Organ allocation system is not equitable	132 (4.4)
No enough knowledge about organ donation	29 (0.9)
No specific reason	519 (17.5)
Which are the most effective methods for raising awareness of organ donation?
Seminars and organization of campaigns for organ donation in schools	1941 (64.7)
Organization of campaigns for donation in all official institutions Financial support by the government to organ donors	1680 (56.0)
Financial support by the government to organ donors	987 (32.9)
Improving the knowledge of the healthcare workers regarding brain death and donation	812 (27.1)
Giving priority to organ donors when necessary	558 (18.6)
Tax discount to individuals agreeing in organ donation	550 (18.3)
Media support for promotion of organ donation	108 (3.6)
Organization of periodic educational seminars	64 (2.1)
Preaching by religious officials about the necessity of organ donation	30 (1.0)
What are your main sources of information on organ donation?
Television programs	428 (15.3)
Daily newspaper	191 (6.8)
Internet platform	286 (10.2)
Healthcare professionals	383 (13.7)
Social media (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Twitter, etc.)	175 (6.3)
During education	115 (4.2)
Books/magazines/radio	72 (2.6)
Other	106 (3.8)