Young Indians' Willingness to Make a Living Organ Donation

Abstract

Background: The large unmet need in India for organs to transplant calls for an increase in living organ donations. This study examined the positions of Indian university students on making a living organ donation.

Methods: A convenience sample of 339 students from Karnatak University rated willingness to be a living donor in 48 scenarios consisting of all combinations of 5 factors: recipient's identity (close family member vs stranger), level of surgical risk for the donor, possible long-term health consequences for the donor, probability of transplant success, and likelihood of finding other donors (the subject is one of the rare compatible donors or one donor among others).

Results: Cluster analyses showed the existence of 4 qualitatively distinct positions called nondonors (9%); family donors (21%), for whom willingness was very high when recipients were family members and very low when they were strangers; universal donors (30%), for whom willingness was also quite high when a stranger was involved; and conditional donors (23%), who took a risk-benefit perspective.

Conclusions: These finding suggest that the fundamental reason for the current shortage of organs in India is neither psychological nor cultural but more likely organizational.