Individual Donations Research Articles

Re-engineering the medical assessment of blood donors in South Africa: The balance between supply and safety.

The balance between ensuring blood donor and recipient safety while maintaining a sufficient blood supply can be affected by excessive deferral of blood donors. In 2018, a biannual regulatory review of donor eligibility criteria provided the South African National Blood Service (SANBS) the opportunity to review the existing criteria. Changes to these criteria were implemented in April 2019 after an extensive review. We conducted a cross-sectional study of SANBS whole-blood donor presentations to determine the impact of the changed donor eligibility criteria on deferrals and blood safety. We compared donor presentations, deferrals, and HIV-positive cases for the 12-month period (April 2019-March 2020) after the implementation of the updated donor eligibility criteria to those of the previous year. Of the 2,112,917 donor presentations, 51.1% (1079506) occurred in the post-implementation study period. Overall, deferrals decreased from 18.6% to 14.5%, whereas HIV-positive donations increased by 0.03%. A multivariable logistic regression analysis adjusted for sex, age, geographical location, donor, and clinic type showed significantly lower odds of deferral (OR 0.70; 95% CI: 0.69-0.70) and greater odds of HIV-positive cases in the study period than those in the control period (OR 1.17; 95% CI: 1.10-1.25). We confirmed that the change in donor eligibility criteria was associated with a decrease in deferrals and an increase in the country's blood supply. The impact of the increased number of HIV-positive donations on blood safety in a country performing individual donation nucleic acid amplification testing requires further investigation.

Long Term Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Social Concerns.

While some local, temporary past crises have boosted overall charitable donations, there have been concerns about potential substitution effects that the Covid-19 pandemic might have on other social objectives, such as tackling climate change and reducing inequality. We present results from a donation experiment (n = 1, 762), with data collected between April 2020 and January 2021. We combine data from (i) an online donation experiment, (ii) an extended questionnaire including perceptions, actions, and motives on the Covid-19 pandemic, the climate crisis, and poverty, as well as charitable behavior and (iii) epidemiological data. The experimental results show that donations to diverse social concerns are partially substituted by donations to the Covid-19 fund; yet, this substitution does not fully replace all other social concerns. Over time we observe no systematic trend in charitable donations. In regards to the determinants of individual donations, we observe that women donate more, people taking actions against Covid-19 and against poverty donate more, while those fearing risks from poverty donate less. In addition, we observe that the population under consideration is sensitive to the needs of others, enhancing total donations for higher Covid-19 incidence. For donations to each charity, we find that trusting a given charitable organization is the strongest explanatory factor of donations.JEL: L3, D64, Q54, I3, D9

Residual risk of transfusion-transmitted hepatitis B virus (TT-HBV) infection by NAT-screened blood components: A review of observed versus modeled infectivity from donors with window period and occult HBV infections.

The residual transfusion-transmitted hepatitis B virus (TT-HBV) risk with different testing strategies depends on the sensitivity of screening assays, the prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) compared to HBV-DNA in window period (WP) and occult HBV infections (OBIs), and infectivity of blood in these infection stages. We compared modeled WP and OBI transmission risk in a multiregional individual donation nucleic acid amplification technology (ID-NAT) screening study with observed TT-HBV infection rates in several lookback studies. The WP and OBI risk was estimated from ID-NAT screening data in six geographic regions. The 50% infectious dose (ID50 ), a key factor in the applied risk models, was assumed to be 100-fold higher in OBI than in WP blood. The relative proportion of WP and OBI TT-risk was estimated for different screening scenarios and expressed as a percentage of the ID-NAT yield rate to allow for comparison with observed TT-rates in lookback studies. Despite sevenfold to eightfold higher HBV ID-NAT yield rates in OBI than WP in South-East Asia and Europe, our models predicted that 40 (26-55)% of total residual TT-HBV risk was due to OBI, comparable to 37% observed in a Japanese hemovigilance study. Modeled TT-OBI risk was approximately 10-fold higher than observed rates of 2%-8% in five lookback studies but comparable to one other study (36%). Although the observed TT-OBI rate was generally lower than the modeled risk, the relative risk of WP versus OBI transmission was not incompatible with the observational infectivity data. This supports the validity of our assumptions in the infectivity-based models for estimating worst-case residual risk with different testing scenarios.

I give a dime if you do, too! The influence of descriptive norms on perceived impact, personal involvement, and monetary donation intentions

AbstractIndividual donations are the main source of income for charitable organizations. This study aims to understand whether, when, and how descriptive norms can be used to motivate individual monetary donations. Our findings challenge previous literature about the influence of descriptive norms on donation intentions by shedding light on the process of their influence. Studying 288 respondents, we found that descriptive norms do influence donation intentions and this interaction is mediated by perceived impact as well as personal involvement. Beneficiary responsibility, however, did not emerge as a significant moderator of the process. Our results guide managerial decisions of charitable organizations to inform their professional practice and help them increase individual donations.

Detection of Babesia RNA and DNA in whole blood samples from US blood donations.

BackgroundHuman babesiosis is a zoonotic infection caused by an intraerythrocytic parasite. The highest incidence of babesiosis is in the United States, although cases have been reported in other parts of the world. Due to concerns of transfusion‐transmitted babesiosis, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommended year‐round regional testing for Babesia by nucleic acid testing or use of an FDA‐approved device for pathogen reduction. A new molecular test, cobas Babesia (Roche Molecular Systems, Inc.), was evaluated for the detection of the four species that cause human disease, Babesia microti, Babesia duncani, Babesia divergens, and Babesia venatorum.Study design and methodsAnalytical performance was evaluated followed by clinical studies on whole blood samples from US blood donations collected in a special tube containing a chaotropic reagent that lyses the red cells and preserves nucleic acid. Sensitivity and specificity of the test in individual samples (individual donation testing [IDT]) and in pools of six donations were determined.ResultsBased on analytical studies, the claimed limit of detection of cobas Babesia for B. microti is 6.1 infected red blood cells (iRBC)/mL (95% confidence interval [CI]: 5.0, 7.9); B. duncani was 50.2 iRBC/mL (95% CI: 44.2, 58.8); B. divergens was 26.1 (95% CI: 22.3, 31.8); and B. venatorum was 40.0 iRBC/mL (95% CI: 34.1, 48.7). The clinical specificity for IDT was 99.999% (95% CI: 99.996, 100) and 100% (95% CI: 99.987, 100) for pools of six donations.Conclusioncobas Babesia enables donor screening for Babesia species with high sensitivity and specificity.

Influence of Cost and Self-Control on Individual Donation Behavior: The Promoting Effect of Self-Affirmation.

PurposeDonation behavior plays a crucial role in promoting the development of social and public welfare undertakings. Previous studies have partially explored the influencing factors of donation behavior, but effective methods for boosting individuals’ donation behavior remain unclear. Based on the resource dependence theory, our present study further explored the promoting effect of self-affirmation on the relationship among cost, self-control, and individuals’ donation behavior, and provided empirical basis for boosting individuals’ donation behavior.MethodsIn preliminary experiment, Carlson’s real donation paradigm was conducted to examine the effect of cost on individuals’ donation behavior. In experiment 1, we examined the effects of cost, self-control ability, and self-affirmation on individuals’ donation behavior. Individuals with high or low self-control ability were assigned to complete the experimental induction of self-affirmation or non-affirmation. Subsequently, all participants completed the donation task under three cost conditions same as preliminary experiment. In experiment 2, we examined the effects of cost, self-control resource, and self-affirmation on individuals’ donation behavior. Participants were assigned to complete the different Stroop task to induce the state of self-control resource exhaustion or non-exhaustion. Then, they completed the priming of self-affirmation or non-affirmation same as experiment 1. Finally, all participants completed the donation task under three cost conditions same as preliminary experiment.ResultsThe results of preliminary experiment indicated that participants engaged in more donation behavior under low- and medium-cost conditions compared with high-cost condition. The results of experiment 1 demonstrated that self-affirmation exerted a promoting effect on the donation behavior for individuals with low self-control ability under low-, medium-, and high-cost conditions. The results of experiment 2 demonstrated that self-affirmation promoted the donation behavior of individuals with self-control resource exhaustion under low-, medium-, and high-cost conditions.ConclusionSelf-affirmation could promote the donation behavior of individuals with low self-control ability and those with self-control resource exhaustion, whether donation’s cost was high or low. Self-affirmation plays a crucial role for boosting individuals’ donation behavior.

High Frequency Occult Hepatitis B Virus Infection Detected in Non-Resolved Donations Suggests the Requirement of Anti-HBc Test in Blood Donors in Southern China.

BackgroundMost Chinese Blood Centers adopted mini pool (MP) nucleic acid testing (NAT) for HBV screening due to high cost of Individual donation (ID) NAT, and different proportions of MP-reactive but ID-non-reactive donations (MP+/ID−, defined as non-resolved donations) have been observed during daily donor screening process. Some of these non-resolved donations are occult HBV infections (OBIs), which pose potential risk of HBV transmission if they are not deferred. This study is aimed to further analyze these non-resolved donations.MethodsThe non-resolved plasma samples were further analyzed by serological tests and various HBV DNA amplification assays including quantitative PCR (qPCR) and nested PCR amplifying the basic core and pre-core promoter regions (BCP/PC; 295 base pairs) and HBsAg (S) region (496 base pairs). Molecular characterizations of HBV DNA+ non-resolved samples were determined by sequencing analysis.ResultsOf 17,226 MPs from 103,356 seronegative blood donations, 98 MPs were detected reactive for HBV. Fifty-six out of these 98 (57.1%) reactive MPs were resolved as HBV DNA+, but the remaining 42 pools (42.9%, 252 donations) were left non-resolved with a high rate (53.2%) of anti-HBc+. Surprisingly, among 42 non-resolved MPs, 17 contained one donation identified as OBIs by alternative NAT assays. Sequence analysis on HBV DNAs extracted from these OBI donations showed some key mutations in the S region that may lead to failure in HBsAg detection and vaccine escape.ConclusionA total of 53.2% of the non-resolved donations were anti-HBc+, and OBIs were identified in 40.5% of these non-resolved pools. Therefore, non-resolved donations with anti-HBc+ might pose potential risk for HBV transmission. Our present analysis indicates that anti-HBc testing in non-resolved donations should be used to identify OBIs in order to further increase blood safety in China.

Undisclosed HIV status and antiretroviral therapy use among South African blood donors.

Undisclosed antiretroviral drug (ARV) use among blood donors who tested HIV antibody positive, but RNA negative, was previously described by our group. Undisclosed ARV use represents a risk to blood transfusion safety. We assessed the prevalence of and associations with undisclosed ARV use among HIV-positive donors who donated during 2017. South African National Blood Service (SANBS) blood donors are screened by self-administered questionnaire, semi-structured interview, and individual donation nucleic acid amplification testing for HIV. Stored samples from HIV-positive donations were tested for ARV and characterized as recent/longstanding using lag avidity testing. Of the 1462 HIV-positive donations in 2017, 1250 had plasma availability for testing of which 122 (9.8%) tested positive for ARV. Undisclosed ARV use did not differ by gender (p= .205) or ethnicity (p= .505) but did differ by age category (p< .0001), donor (p< .0001), clinic type (p= .012), home province (p= .01), and recency (p< .0001). Multivariable logistic regression found older age (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 3.73, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.98-7.04 for donors >40 compared with those <21), first-time donation (aOR 5.24; 95% CI 2.48-11.11), and donation in a high HIV-prevalence province (aOR 9.10; 95% CI 2.70-30.72) compared with Northern Rural provinces to be independently associated with undisclosed ARV use. Almost 1 in 10 HIV-positive blood donors neglected to disclose their HIV status and ARV use. Demographic characteristics of donors with undisclosed ARV use differed from those noted in other study. Underlying motivations for nondisclosure among blood donors remain unclear and may differ from those in other populations with significant undisclosed ARV use.

P2 Farmers Feeding Utah: An Innovative Approach to Increasing Healthy Food Access and Supporting Local Agriculture

<h3>Objective</h3> Farmers Feeding Utah (FFU) aims to help Utah farmers and families who have been impacted by COVID-19. FFU temporarily improves participants' food security, increases the availability of fresh, local food in pantries, and provides product outlets for farmers. <h3>Use of Theory or Research</h3> Utah has seen a 300% increase in the need for food assistance since the onset of COVID-19 in March 2020. Additionally, processing shortages and market losses have left many Utah farmers without a market for their products. FFU provides a food system change that connects families in need to fresh, local food. <h3>Target Audience</h3> FFU is targeted towards food insecure families and struggling farmers. Families experiencing intergenerational poverty are given priority at the food distribution events. Locations for FFU events are identified by need, based on increases in unemployment and SNAP enrollment. <h3>Program Description</h3> FFU is a partnership between the Miracle of Agriculture Foundation, Utah Farm Bureau, and Utah's SNAP-Ed program, Create Better Health. Individual and corporate donations are collected to purchase nutrient-dense, locally produced foods to distribute to those in need. <h3>Evaluation Methods</h3> FFU collects outcome data at the distribution events, including the household size of those reached and effective marketing strategies. Additionally, the number of farmers and food pantries supported by the program and pounds of food donated are collected. <h3>Results</h3> To date, FFU has held 8 food distributions across the state of Utah, including in the Navajo Nation. Over 1.1 million pounds of food, including produce, meat, poultry, eggs, nuts, and live sheep, have been distributed to over 21,000 families and 25 food pantries. The program has supported 27 Utah farmers. <h3>Conclusion</h3> While FFU was developed in response to COVID-19, the need for food system changes to better connect individuals experiencing food insecurity with local products will remain beyond the pandemic. FFU is dedicated to finding sustainable solutions towards a more equitable regional food system.

High Yield of Minipool NAT in India using a Sensitive Multiplex Assay for Blood Donor Screening

Background and Objectives: Nucleic acid amplification testing (nucleic acid testing [NAT]) for blood donor screening is increasingly being adopted in India to reduce the risk of transfusion-transmitted diseases. The high sensitivity of NAT enables testing of a large volume of donations in minipool format; reducing the costs of testing compared to individual donation testing. This study was aimed at evaluating the yield of minipool NAT testing for hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in blood donors from Uttar Pradesh. Methods: Samples from routine blood donors collected between August 16, 2016, and December 31, 2020, that were seronegative for hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV) and HIV, syphilis, and malaria were further screened by NAT in pools of six donations (MP6) using the cobas TaqScreen MPX Test, version 2.0 (MPX2) on the cobas s 201 System. Members of reactive pools were tested to identify the reactive donation(s). Viral load testing was performed on randomly selected NAT-reactive samples. Results: Of 172,443 seronegative donors, 463 were NAT reactive: 369 HBV, 89 HCV, 2 HIV, and 3 co-infected with HBV and HCV. The overall NAT yield was 0.27%, with individual virus yield rates of 1/464 for HBV, 1/1874 for HCV, and 1/86,222 for HIV. Viral load testing of 19 HBV NAT-yield donations showed low concentrations in 16 samples and undetectable viral load in three; the two HCV NAT-yield donations tested had high viral loads. Conclusion: Screening of blood donations by minipool NAT using the highly sensitive MPX2 assay identified a high yield of serology negative, NAT-positive donations, including HBV reactive donations with low viral concentrations.

All Earned Revenue is Not Created Equal: Revenue Embeddedness as a Framework for Exploring Crowding-In/Crowding-Out Effects

Nonprofit organizations increasingly rely on earned revenue to sustain their mission-driven activities. Previous research examining the effects of earned revenue on other income streams tends to study earned revenue in the aggregate. Using panel data from 12,372 organizations from 2010 to 2015, this analysis applies a framework of revenue embeddedness to link earned revenue activities to mission and analyze the effects of earned revenue activities on donations. Earned revenue activities offering new products or services to existing donors appear to complement individual donations. These findings have theoretical and practical applications related to how nonprofits pursue earned revenue.

Re-assessing the risk of undetected HBV, HCV and HIV in deceased tissue and living surgical bone donors in England.

Testing of living surgical bone and deceased tissue donors by NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) has included individual donation (ID) nucleic acid testing (NAT) for HBV, HCV and HIV since 2008. Here, the well-established window period methodology was used to estimate residual risk (RR). Prevalence of viral markers was calculated among both tissue donor populations. Incidence was derived by adjusting incidence among new blood donors by the prevalence ratio for tissue and new blood donors. Residual risk (RR) was calculated as the product of incidence and duration of WP for single donor HBV NAT at 0.058years (21days), HCV NAT at 0.008years (3days) and HIV NAT at 0.014 (5days). Between 2013 and 2017, 7886 living surgical bone donors were tested, 16 were positive for markers of HBV, HCV and HIV. HCV had the highest prevalence at 114/100,000 donors. Incidence and RR was highest for HBV at 3.55/100,000-person years and 0.32/100,000 donors (95% CI 0.11/100,000-1.42/100,000). Among 9751 deceased tissue donors tested, 22 were positive for viral markers. HBV had highest prevalence at 174/100,000 donors, and the highest incidence and RR at 8.12/100,000 person years and 0.74/100,000 donors (95% CI 0.08/100,000-2.99/100,000). Using ID NAT, RR of not detecting a HBV, HCV and HIV WP donation among tissue donors is less than 1/100,000 donors. These estimates provide a good starting point for discussing potential risks of viral transmission through tissue transplant with patients.

Impact of donors' financial fairness perception on donation intention in nonprofit organizations after COVID-19 outbreak.

Based on the investigation of financial fairness perception and donation intention of individual donors in non-profit organizations (NPOs), this paper uses structural equation model to analyze the impact of individual donors’ financial fairness perception on donation intention. The results show that individual donors’ perceptions on financial result fairness, financial procedure fairness and financial information fairness all have positive impact on donation intention; among which the perception on financial result fairness only has direct impact on individual donation intention, while the perceptions on financial procedure fairness and financial information fairness have direct and indirect impact on individual donation intention.

Beyond the realm of cash: street performers and payments in the online world.

Street performers are able to contribute to a fabric of a city’s creative dynamic. The exchange for money between a street performer and an audience is a changing landscape. As less cash is carried on people’s person and audiences want to participate in exchange, the industry is ripe for disruption. The paper uses a unique data set from the online busking platform ‘The Busking Project’ to analyse individual donations to 3757 active buskers. Using a Heckman selection model, we find that the number of fans does influence the number of donations and the artist’s genre matters for the likelihood of receiving donation and the amount received. Musicians are more likely to receive a donation; however, it is a smaller donation amount than other performers. The method of payment for receiving a donation and the anonymity of the donor also influences the amount received. The geographic location matters for receiving a donation but not the amount received.

Predicting Protein and Fat Content in Human Donor Milk Using Machine Learning.

Donor milk is the standard of care for hospitalized very low birth weight (VLBW) infants when mother's milk is unavailable; however, growth of donor milk-fed infants is frequently suboptimal. Variability in nutrient composition of donated milk complicates the production of a uniform pooled product and, subsequently, the provision of adequate nutrition to promote optimal growth and development of VLBW infants. We reasoned a machine learning approach to construct batches using characteristics of the milk donation might be an effective strategy in reducing the variability in donor milk product composition. The objective of this study was to identify whether machine learning models can accurately predict donor milk macronutrient content. We focused on predicting fat and protein, given their well-established importance in VLBW infant growth outcomes. Samples of donor milk, consisting of 272 individual donations and 61 pool samples, were collected from the Rogers Hixon Ontario Human Milk Bank and analyzed for macronutrient content. Four different machine learning models were constructed using independent variable groups associated with donations, donors, and donor-pumping practices. A baseline model was established using lactation stage and infant gestational status. Predictions were made for individual donations and resultant pools. Machine learning models predicted protein of individual donations and pools with a mean absolute error (MAE) of 0.16g/dL and 0.10g/dL, respectively. Individual donation and pooled fat predictions had an MAE of 0.91g/dL and 0.42g/dL, respectively. At both the individual donation and pool levels, protein predictions were significantly more accurate than baseline, whereas fat predictions were competitive with baseline. Machine learning models can provide accurate predictions of macronutrient content in donor milk. The macronutrient content of pooled milk had a lower prediction error, reinforcing the value of pooling practices. Future research should examine how macronutrient content predictions can be used to facilitate milk bank pooling strategies.

&amp;ldquo;More&amp;rdquo; is less: Why multiple payment mechanism impairs individual donation

&amp;ldquo;More&amp;rdquo; is less: Why multiple payment mechanism impairs individual donation

Molecular characteristics of HBV infection among blood donors tested HBsAg reactive in a single ELISA test in southern China

BackgroundHepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a major concern for blood safety in high-prevalence HBV countries such as China. In Shenzhen, dual hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) have been adopted in parallel with nucleic acid testing (NAT) for donors for over a decade. A small proportion of blood donors test reactive (R) for HBsAg but negative through routine NAT, which can lead to HBV infection with an extremely low viral load.ObjectivesWe aimed to investigate and analyze the molecular characteristics of HBV among blood donors that tested HBsAg R in a single ELISA test.MethodsBlood donations were evaluated in this study if confirmed HBsAg R through one of two ELISA kits. Samples with non-reactive (NR) results by NAT were collected and tested for HBsAg by chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay (CLIA) with a neutralization test. The level of HBsAg was further assessed by electrochemiluminescence immunoassay (ECLIA). The viral basic core promoter (BCP) and pre-core (PC) and S regions were amplified by nested PCR. Quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) for viral load determination and individual donation (ID)-NAT were adopted simultaneously. HBsAg was confirmed with CLIA, ECLIA, nested PCR, qPCR, and ID-NAT.ResultsOf the 100,252 donations, 38 and 41 were identified as HBsAg R with Wantai and DiaSorin ELISA kits, respectively. Seventy-nine (0.077%, 79/100,252) blood samples with ELISA R-NR and NAT NR results were enrolled in the study. Of these, 17 (21.5%,17/79) were confirmed as HBsAg-positive. Of the 14 genotyped cases, 78.6% (11/14) were genotype B, and C and D were observed in two and one sample, respectively. Mutations were found in the S gene, including Y100C, Y103I, G145R, and L175S, which can affect the detection of HBsAg. A high-frequency mutation, T1719G (93.3%), was detected in the BCP/PC region, which reduced the viral replication.ConclusionA small number of blood samples with HBsAg ELISA R-NR and NAT NR results were confirmed as HBV infection, viral nucleic acids were found in most of the samples through routine NAT methods. It is necessary to employ more sensitive and specific assays for the detection of HBV infection among blood donors.

Enabling artificial intelligence on a donation-based crowdfunding platform: a theoretical approach

Individual or group donations form an important aspect of disaster relief operations. Donation-based crowdfunding (DBC) tasks are often listed on crowdfunding platforms to attract donors to donate for a specific reason in a stipulated time. As the frequency and intensity of disasters has increased over time, these platforms have gained in popularity, and they need a constant and consistent flow of funds to achieve their targets. Artificial intelligence (AI) tools are often adopted by these channels to enhance their operational performance. We understand the process of adoption through uses and gratification theory, which is dominated by motivational factors, such as the utilitarian and symbolic benefits which DBC intends to achieve. The inflow of cash from multiple donors across the world, guided by AI tools, also gives rise to risks; therefore, we have used a moderating variable to better understand the operational performance of DBC. We collected empirical data through 293 responses from owners of DBC tasks in the context of disaster relief operations. We tested our hypotheses using partial least square structured equation modelling and controlled for intensity of disaster and crowdfunding task duration. Our results offer a significant extension to uses and gratification theory by understanding a positive relation between uses and gratification benefits and the adoption of AI tools for boosting operational performance. We project that, whereas the duration of a crowdfunding task plays an essential role in collecting the required funds for disaster relief operations, the intensity of the disaster does not impact the process of adopting AI tools or on their operational performance. Our study offers critical insights for understanding aspects of designing and implementing AI in DBC scenarios, which has been a grey area in understanding donors’ behavior.

Practicing With Uncertainty: Kidney Transplantation During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic required transplant nephrologists, surgeons, and care teams to make decisions about the full spectrum of transplant program operations and clinical practices in the absence of experience or data. Initially, across the country, there was a reduction in kidney transplant procedures and a striking pause in the conduct of living donation and living-donor transplant surgeries. Aspects of candidate evaluation and follow-up rapidly converted to telehealth. Months into the pandemic, much has been learned from experiences worldwide, yet many questions remain. In this Perspective, we reflect on some of the practice decisions made by the transplant community in the initial response to the pandemic and consider lessons learned, including those related to the risks, benefits, and logistical considerations of proceeding with versus delaying deceased-donor transplantation, living donation, and living-donor transplantation during the pandemic. We review the evolution of therapeutic strategies for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and their use in transplant recipients, current consensus related to immunosuppression management in infected transplant recipients, and emerging information on vaccination against SARS-CoV-2. We share our thoughts on research priorities, discuss the areas in which we are still practicing with uncertainty, and look ahead to the next phase of the pandemic response.

The Relationship between Organ Donation Attitudes and Religiosity

Dünyada organ bağışı, milyon başına düşen kadavra donör sayısı (pmp) olarak beklenilenin altında seyretmektedir. Dünyada milyon başına düşen kadavra donör sayısı en fazla olan ülke İspanya’dır. 2019 yılında, İspanya’da milyon başına düşen kadavra donör sayısı 48,9 olarak tespit edilmiştir. Türkiye’de ise 2019 yılında milyon başına düşen kadavra donör sayısı 7,54 olarak belirlenmiştir. Ülkemizdeki organ bağışçı sayısının düşük olmasının altında birçok neden yatmaktadır. Dini gerekçelerle organ bağışı yapılmaması ve bu konuda yeteri kadar bilinçli ve bilgili olunmaması en başta gelen nedenlerdendir. Yapılan çalışmalara bakıldığında organ bağışı tutumlarında dindarlık veya din belirleyici ve büyük bir etken olarak görülmektedir. Ülkemizdeki dindarlık oranı değerlendirildiğinde organ bağışı tutumlarına yönelik davranışlar daha da önem kazanmaktadır. Bu nedenle literatürde din ile organ bağışı ilişkisini araştıran çalışmalara ihtiyaç duyulmaktadır. Bu çalışmanın yapılma amacı literatürdeki dindarlık ile organ bağışı arasındaki ilişkiye yönelik ihtiyacı karşılamaktır. Buna bağlı olarak araştırmada şu hipotezler test edilmiştir: 1. Cinsiyete göre organ bağışı tutumlarında farklılaşma vardır. 2. Cinsiyete göre dini ibadet ve bireysel dindarlıkta farklılaşma vardır. 3. Yardımseverlik ve ahlak/inanç değerleri boyutu ile dini ibadet ve bireysel dindarlık arasında pozitif yönde korelasyon ilişkisi bulunmaktadır. 4. Yardımseverlik ve ahlak/inanç değerleri boyutuyla tıbbi ihmal korkusu ve bedensel yaralanma korkusu arasında negatif yönde ilişki vardır. 5. Dini ibadet, yardımseverlik ve ahlak/inanç değerlerini, tıbbi ihmal korkusunu ve bedensel yaralanma korkusunu yordamaktadır. 6. Bireysel dindarlık, yardımseverlik ve ahlak/inanç değerlerini, tıbbi ihmal korkusunu ve bedensel yaralanma korkusunu yordamaktadır. 7. Yardımseverlik ve ahlak/inanç değerleri boyutu, tıbbi ihmal korkusu ve bedensel yaralanma korkusunu yordamaktadır.Bu çalışmada dindarlık ile organ bağışı tutumları arasındaki ilişkiler incelenmiştir. Dindarlık, bireysel dindarlık ve dini ibadetler olarak iki ayrı değişken olarak ele alınmıştır. Organ bağışı tutumlarının ise pozitif ve negatif olmak üzere iki yönü bulunmaktadır. Organ bağışı tutumunun pozitif yönünü; yardımseverlik ve ahlak/inanç değerleri, negatif yönünü ise tıbbi ihmal korkusu ve bedensel yaralanma korkusu temsil etmektedir. Çalışmanın örneklemi 205 (E: 26,3%, K: 73,7%) üniversite öğrencisinden oluşmaktadır. Örneklemin yaş ortalaması 21.56’dır. Çalışmada organ bağışı tutum ölçeği, dini ibadet ölçeği ve bireysel dindarlık ölçeği kullanılmıştır. Organ Bağışı Tutum Ölçeği, Parisi ve Katz (1986) tarafından geliştirilmiş, Kent ve Owens (1995) tarafından tekrar revize edilmiştir. Sayın (2016) ise organ bağışı tutum ölçeğini Türkçe’ye uyarlamıştır. Dini İbadet ölçeği Ayten (2012) tarafından geliştirilmiştir. Bireysel Dindarlık Ölçeği ise Zagumny vd. (2012) tarafından geliştirilmiş, Ayten (2012) tarafından Türkçe’ye uyarlanmıştır. Çalışmada kullanılan ölçeklerin tümü istatistiki olarak güvenilir ve geçerlilik testlerinden geçmiştir. Çalışmanın sonuçlarına bakıldığında; cinsiyet farklılaşmasına göre organ bağışı tutum ölçeğinin olumsuz alt boyutu olan bedensel yaralanma korkusu boyutunda istatistiki olarak anlamlı düzeyde farklılaşma bulunmuştur. Ayrıca cinsiyete göre dini ibadet konusunda da gruplar arasında farklılaşma tespit edilmiştir. Bireysel dindarlık ile yardımseverlik ve ahlak/inanç değerleri arasında korelasyon ilişkisi bulgulanmıştır. Dahası organ bağışı tutum ölçeğinin kendi alt boyutları arasında da anlamlı düzeyde korelasyon ilişkisi saptanmıştır. Bireysel dindarlık ile organ bağışının olumlu alt boyutu olan yardımseverlik ve ahlak/inanç değerleri boyutu arasında regresyon ilişkisi olduğu ortaya koyulmuştur. Organ bağışı tutumu ölçeğinin ahlaki, dini ve pro-sosyal boyutunu oluşturulan yardımseverlik ve ahlak/inanç değerleri boyutu ile organ bağışı tutumu ölçeğinin olumsuz alt boyutları olan tıbbi ihmal korkusu boyutu ve bedensel yaralanma korkusu boyutu arasında ise negatif yönde regresyon ilişkisi olduğu tespit edilmiştir.