Attitudes Toward Organ Donation and Transplantation Among Transplant-Related Health Care Workers and the Local Population of Montenegro.

Abstract

The aim of this research was to determine the attitudes of transplant-related health care workers and the local population of Montenegro toward organ donation and transplantation. Our study included 200 transplant-related health care professionals (from the Clinical Center of Montenegro, the only transplant hospital in the country) and 200 volunteers from Podgorica (the capital of Montenegro). Their attitudes were evaluated using an anonymous, self-administered, multiple-choice questionnaire. Most health care workers would donate their organs only on specific occasions (43.6%), whereas the general population was divided between willingness to donate only on specific occasions and the need to consider the decision of donating (34.6% each). Both groups of respondents predominantly claimed that they would donate their organs to any potential recipient, regardless of sensory or physical disability. A positive opinion regarding the promotion of organ donation, as well as the need for legal regulation of the transplant process, was noted in both groups of responders. There is a need to increase the generosity of the Montenegrin population and its health care workers regarding organ donation at all times and not exclusively on specific occasions.