What are Chinese New Zealanders' organ donation attitudes

Abstract

Introduction: Research indicates Chinese people have the lowest organ donation rates in the world. Meanwhile Chinese people have the highest demand for liver transplants in the world because of the prevalence of liver disease in Chinese. It is urgent to know Chinese New Zealanders’ organ donation attitudes. Objectives/Aims: Identify Chinese New Zealanders’ attitudes toward organ donation and to explore the barriers and facilitators of organ donation in Chinese New Zealanders. Methods: A cross sectional survey was undertaken. Chinese New Zealanders (=187) completed of a web-based or paper-based questionnaire, which included the organ donation attitude scale, knowledge scale and the Chinese death anxiety scale. Results: Of the respondents, 171 (91.9%) supported organ donation, 139 (75.9%) would like to donate their organs after death, 90 (49.4%) had signed an organ donor card or the back of their driver’s licenses, but only 40 (21.4%) had discussed their organ donation wishes with their family. Designated donors and non-designated donors in the knowledge scores and the death anxiety scores are significantly different. Cultural influence, knowing someone who donated an organ while living, knowledge, and receiving organ donation education were predictive of Chinese New Zealanders’ attitudes to organ donation. While death anxiety negatively influences Chinese New Zealanders’ organ donation attitudes; it is not a significant predictor of Chinese New Zealanders’ organ donation attitudes. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that many Chinese New Zealanders willing to donate organs. There is a huge discrepancy between the attitude displayed in surveys and the actual consent rate. Chinese culture is the strongest negative predictor of Chinese New Zealanders’ attitudes towards organ donation. They are also lack knowledge about organ donation such as donor criteria, donation process, and applicable laws. The major challenge is to improve the consent rate of Chinese New Zealander donors’ families