Public perception of deceased organ donation in Trinidad

ABSTRACT

Objective: To investigate person's knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) toward Deceased Organ Donation (DOD) in Trinidad. Design and Methodology: A cross-sectional study of patients attending four randomly selected health centres in Trinidad was conducted using a using quota sampling, to obtain equal numbers of males and females. Data was collected using a 41-item questionnaire, which was structured to test knowledge, attitude and practices. Chis-sq analysis was conducted using SPSS Version-23. Results: 273 respondents completed the questionnaire; 50.5% females; mean age 39.5 (SD15.1) years; 50.2% Indo-Caribbean and 24.5% African, 47.8% completed secondary education; and majority Christian (48.4%) or Hindu (31.5%). 81.3% had heard of the term organ donation". Respondents believed the most frequently reported organs for deceased organ transplant in Trinidad were kidney (76.1%), heart (48.2%) and liver (33.3%). When asked about their attitudes toward DOD, 52.3% of the respondents stated that they would donate their organs, 79% had not heard about the National Organ Transplant Unit (NOTU) and no respondent reported ever donating an organ, nor enquired about donor cards (80%), nor heard about support groups (68%). Conclusion: Most participants, though knowledgeable on the term DOD, were not familiar with the practice nor the major organ donation groups in Trinidad such as NOTU and the Kidney Recipients Support Group. However, participants were positive toward DOD, thus, raising greater awareness can lead to major cost-benefits for the public health system.