Presumed Consent and Cadaveric Organ Donation: Cross-Country Evidence

AbstractBackgroundThis research explores how public awareness and attitudes towards donation and transplantation policies may contribute to Spain’s success in cadaveric organ donation.Materials and MethodsA representative sample of 813 people residing in Andalusia (Southern Spain) were surveyed by telephone or via Internet between October and December 2018.ResultsMost participants trust Spain’s donation and transplantation system (93%) and wish to donate their organs after death (76%). Among donors, a majority have expressed their consent (59%), while few non-donors have expressed their refusal (14%). Only a minority is aware of the presumed consent system in force (28%) and feel sufficiently informed regarding the requirements needed to be an organ donor (16%). Participants mainly consider that relatives should represent the deceased’s preferences and be consulted when the deceased’s wishes are unknown, as is the case in Spain.ConclusionsPublic trust in the transplant system may contribute to Spain’s high performance in organ donation. High levels of societal support towards organ donation and transplantation do not correspond in Spain with similar levels of public awareness of donation and transplantation policies.

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Presumed Consent and other Predictors of Cadaveric Organ Donation in Europe

Progress in Transplantation ◽

10.1177/152692480301300104 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 13 (1) ◽

pp. 17-23 ◽

Cited By ~ 22

Author(s):

Ronald W. Gimbel ◽

Martin A. Strosberg ◽

Susan E. Lehrman ◽

Eugenijus Gefenas ◽

Frank Taft

Keyword(s):

Organ Donation ◽

Organ Procurement ◽

Ordinary Least Squares ◽

Published Data ◽

Least Squares Regression ◽

Environmental Predictors ◽

Presumed Consent ◽

Individual Country ◽

Donation Rate ◽

Cadaveric Organ

Context Few studies on presumed consent and environmental predictors of cadaveric organ donation in Europe have been published. Objective To determine if a presumed consent policy and other variables can be used to predict the cadaveric organ donation rate per million population. Design Secondary analysis of published data. Setting Europe. Participants The unit of analysis for this study is the individual country. Main Outcome Measure Cadaveric organ donation rate per million population. Results Original and transformed data were subjected to ordinary least-squares regression. All 4 independent variables were significant predictors of cadaveric donation rate, including (1) having a presumed consent (opting-out) policy in practice, (2) number of transplant centers per million population, (3) percentage of the population enrolled in third-tier education, and (4) percentage of population that is Roman Catholic. Conclusion Findings may be useful to academics and professionals responsible for organ procurement. Additional research is necessary for practical application of findings. Generalizing these findings beyond Europe may be problematic because of external validity constraints.

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