Does Having a Relative in Dialysis Therapy Affect Attitudes Toward Kidney Donating?

Abstract

The majority of kidney transplants in Turkey are performed from live donors and from those among first-degree relatives. To compare the view points and the attitudes of individuals who have relatives undergoing dialysis toward kidney donation treatment with those who do not. The study was designed as a descriptive study, which used simple random sampling. The sample consisted of 204 individuals, divided into 2 groups: those whose relatives underwent dialysis treatment (group A, n = 106) and those whose relatives did not (group B, n = 98). The means of the total points obtained in "Kidney Donation Attitude Inventory" (KDAI) by individuals in group A were statistically significantly higher than those obtained by individuals in group B ( P = .001). Although there was a statistically significant difference in the educational status, status of willing to donate their kidneys and being a relative of an individual awaiting a kidney transplant, and the mean total points obtained from the KDAI between the groups ( P < .05), no statistically significant difference was determined between the means of the obtained total points and the gender and the duration of dialysis treatment ( P > .05). The attitudes of the relatives of individuals undergoing dialysis treatment toward kidney donation were determined to be more positive.