Physicians’ Belief about Organ Donation

BACKGROUND Several studies have suggested that knowledge, attitudes and determinants concerning organ donation are influenced by many factors including gender, educational level, occupation, sociodemographic status, income level, culture and religion. OBJECTIVE To highlight the awareness of cardiopulmonary and brain death (CD and BD) among the physicians and their belief about the organ donation. METHODS In a cross-sectional study, 15% of 1700 physicians working under the auspices of Ministry of Health in Makkah region, were selected randomly from two hospitals of Makkah city, i.e., Alnoor Specialist Hospital and King Abdalaziz Hospital. A self-administered questionnaire with dichotomous answers was distributed to them. RESULTS Out of 185 respondents, 174 (94.1%) identified the right definition of BD and CD and 155 (83.3%) agreed organ donation. The difference among physicians to differentiate CD from BD was not significant (p=0.2). CONCLUSION Physicians had enough knowledge to differentiate CD from BD; most of them are highly positive regarding the concept of organ donation.