Awareness, Attitudes, and Willingness: A Cross-Sectional Study of Organ Donation in Saudi Arabia

Organ transplantation is inherently dependent on the availability of organ donors. There is a noticeable paucity of literature addressing the rates of organ donation registration and the awareness of Islamic regulations (Fatwa) regarding organ donation within Saudi Arabia. Our study aimed to evaluat...

Full description

Saved in:

Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Healthcare (Basel) Vol. 11; no. 24; p. 3126
Main Authors:	Alhasan, Khalid, Aljamaan, Fadi, Ajlan, Aziza, Aleid, Hassan, Al Ghoufi, Talal, Alabbad, Saleh I, AlDhaferi, Rezqah F, Almaiman, Weiam, Ali, Tariq, Hakami, Alaa Abdullah, Hakami, Rafeef Abdullah, Alqarni, Baraah S, Alrashed, Alhanouf S, Alsharidi, Tarfa R, Almousa, Hamad A, Altamimi, Ibraheem, Alhaboob, Ali, Jamal, Amr, Shalaby, Mohamed A, Kari, Jameela A, Raina, Rupesh, Broering, Dieter C, Temsah, Mohamad-Hani
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Switzerland MDPI AG 08-12-2023
Subjects:	attitudes Blood & organ donations Brain death Confidentiality Consent Data collection Decision making Expatriates health surveys Hepatitis Jurisprudence Kidneys knowledge Liver diseases Medical personnel organ donation Population practice Questionnaires Registration Religion Sample size Saudi Arabia Social networks Transplants & implants Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia practice health surveys attitudes mobile applications organ donation knowledge
Online Access:	Get full text
Tags:	Add Tag No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!

Description
Summary:	Organ transplantation is inherently dependent on the availability of organ donors. There is a noticeable paucity of literature addressing the rates of organ donation registration and the awareness of Islamic regulations (Fatwa) regarding organ donation within Saudi Arabia. Our study aimed to evaluate the level of organ donation registration, awareness of Islamic regulations, and knowledge of the Saudi Center for Organ Transplantation (SCOT) within the Saudi society. We conducted a cross-sectional survey from 30 March to 9 April 2023. This survey aimed to assess the awareness of Islamic (Fatwa) guidance on organ donation, the role of SCOT, and the rate of organ donation registration facilitated through the Tawakkalna app, the official health passport application in Saudi Arabia. Out of 2329 respondents, 21% had registered as potential deceased organ donors, despite 87% acknowledging the importance of organ donation. Awareness of the Islamic Fatwa regarding organ donation was reported by 54.7% of respondents, and 37% recognized the Fatwa's acceptance of brain death criteria. The likelihood of registration as organ donors was higher among Saudi citizens under 45 years of age, females, healthcare workers (HCWs), individuals with higher education, relatives of patients awaiting organ donations, those informed about the Islamic Fatwas, and those willing to donate organs to friends. Conversely, being over the age of 25, Saudi nationality, employment as an HCW, awareness of SCOT, and prior organ donation registration were predictive of a heightened awareness of Islamic Fatwas. However, perceiving the importance of organ donation correlated with a lower awareness of the Fatwas. Significant positive correlations were found between awareness of SCOT, awareness of Fatwas, and registration for organ donation. While the Saudi population exhibits a high regard for the importance of organ donation, this recognition is not adequately translated into registration rates. The discrepancy may be attributable to limited awareness of SCOT and the relevant Islamic Fatwas. It is imperative to initiate organ donation awareness campaigns that focus on religious authorization to boost organ donation rates and rectify prevalent misconceptions.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	2227-9032 2227-9032
DOI:	10.3390/healthcare11243126