Police Officers' Knowledge and Attitudes Toward Brain Death and Organ Donation in Korea

Abstract

BackgroundAdministrative processing by the police may affect the process involved in organ donation in the event of an accidental brain injury. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the knowledge and attitude of police toward brain-dead donors and organ donation. MethodsThis was a descriptive research study using a 41-item questionnaire. As of July 19, 2017, 11 police stations in Seoul had collected questionnaires completed by 115 police officers. Data were analyzed using SAS (version 9.4) software. ResultsThere were statistically significant differences in the scores on knowledge about brain death/donation according to religion (P = .022). Attitude was significantly positively correlated with the knowledge about brain-death organ donation (P = .029). ConclusionIt is necessary to understand and cooperate with the police when processing brain death organs from accidents. Education about organ donation can enhance the information and knowledge of the police and can also help to establish a positive attitude about organ donation.