ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: In Tunisia organ donation stays very low. This is in part due to family's opposition in brain death situation. We realized a survey on a representative group of the Tunis's population (2.8 millions citizens) in the aim to clarify, among persons refusing organ donation, the prevalence of refusals determiners to individualize actions. METHODS: This survey was made in the region of Tunis between March 2006 and February 2007. The 16 questions of the survey were classified in four subjects: organ donation knowledge, opinion and attitude of the citizen, explicit justification and statements advanced in case of organ's donation refusal. RESULTS: 80.7% of citizens sounded are informed with the possibility of organ transplant in Tunisia. Only 50% of persons agree to accept organ donation after dying. Among the group refusing organ donation after dying, the absence of an understandable argument is recorded in 55.3% of cases. The violation on body integrity after death as well as religious obstruction are at the head of list of statements advanced in case of organ's donation refusal with respectively 79,9% and 63.1%. CONCLUSION: Relation researched between bodies and spirituality and individualism are the two explanations of this phenomenon of refusal of organ donation in Tunisia.
