Article Sidebar
Published:
Feb 5, 2014Article Details
Copyright remains in the Author’s name. The work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution - Noncommercial Works License. Authors are required to complete and sign an Author Agreement form that outlines Author and Publisher rights and terms of publication. The Agreement form should be uploaded along with other submissions files and any submission will be considered incomplete without it [forthcoming].
Material submitted for publication in the SAMJ is accepted provided it has not been published or submitted for publication elsewhere. Please inform the editorial team if the main findings of your paper have been presented at a conference and published in abstract form, to avoid copyright infringement. The SAMJ does not hold itself responsible for statements made by the authors.
Previously published images
If an image/figure has been previously published, permission to reproduce or alter it must be obtained by the authors from the original publisher and the figure legend must give full credit to the original source. This credit should be accompanied by a letter indicating that permission to reproduce the image has been granted to the author/s. This letter should be uploaded as a supplementary file during submission.
Main Article Content
Attitudes to organ donation among some urban South African populations remain unchanged: A cross-sectional study (1993 - 2013)
Abstract
Objective. To repeat the 1993 survey as far as possible and determine whether public attitudes to organ donation in some South African populations have changed over the past 20 years.
Methods. The 1993 study was replicated in 2012 to generate a current data set. This was compared with the raw data from the 1993 study, and an analysis of percentages was used to determine variations.
Results. Generally attitudes to organ donation have not changed since 1993, remaining positive among the study population. However, individuals are significantly more hesitant to consider donating the organs of a relative without being aware of that person’s donation preference. Individuals in the black African study population are currently more willing to donate kidneys than in 1993 (66% v. 81%; p<0.0001), but less willing to donate a heart (64% v. 38%; p<0.0001), a liver (40% v. 34%; p<0.036) and corneas (22% v. 15%, p<0.0059).
Conclusions. Publicity campaigns aimed at raising awareness of organ donation should emphasise the importance of sharing donation preferences with one’s family in order to mitigate discomfort about making a decision on behalf of another. These campaigns should be culturally and linguistically sensitive. The study should be repeated in all populations over time to continually gauge attitudes.
