Attitudes Toward Organ Donation in an Arab-Based Population

Abstract

Background: Commitment to organ donation may vary among willing younger and older adults. We aimed to understand attitudes toward organ donation among Arab adults. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey of a representative sample of adults from 13 regions in Saudi Arabia between February 12, 2021, and March 14, 2021. We stratified the analyses by individuals’ age (younger, 18 to 39 years old; older, ≥40 years old). Results: Of 4217 individuals contacted, 3120 respondents (1846 younger and 1274 older) completed the survey, with a response rate of 74%. We found that 54% of younger and 47% of older respondents expressed support for organ transplantation, and 49% of younger and 35% of older respondents wanted to donate their organs. However, only 4% of younger and 3% of older respondents had registered in the national donor database. Knowledge sources that most likely to influence attitudes toward organ donation for younger and older respondents, respectively, were physician/health care worker (58% and 55%), family member (29% and 26%), scientist/researcher (29% and 22%), and religious scholar (16% and 23%). Conclusion: Though many younger and older adults express a willingness to donate, few are registered to be a donor. Our findings highlight the influential sources of knowledge that can be implemented in future interventions to increase commitment to organ donation.