The Level of Knowledge of Organ Transplantation and Attitudes Toward Organ Donation of Carers of Patients Receiving Hemodialysis

Abstract

Purpose: Renal transplantation is the most effective treatment method for chronic renal failure and helps improve the quality of life of patients and caregivers.In the present study, the purpose was to determine the knowledge level of the primary caregivers of patients receiving hemodialysis treatment about organ transplantation and their attitudes toward organ donation.

Method: The study was conducted in a descriptive fashion with the relatives of 71 patients who were receiving treatment in the hemodialysis unit for the end-stage renal failure of a state hospital between 01.08.2022 and 15.10.2022. The data of the study were collected face to face with a questionnaire form, Organ Donation Attitude Scale, and Organ Tissue Donation and Transplantation Information Scale. The SPSS 24 package program was used in the analysis of the data. Descriptive statistics, numbers, percentages, and mean values were used in the analysis of the data. The One-Sample Kolmogorov-Smirnov Test was used to evaluate the homogeneity of the data. The Studentt test, the One-Way Analysis of Variance, the Kruskal–Wallis Test, and the Tukey Post-Hoc Test were used for the analysis between the groups. Statistical significance was taken as p < .05.

Results: The benevolence and moral values/beliefs sub-dimension score average of the participants was found to be 98.44 ± 14.61, the fear of medical neglect was 32.10 ± 10.09, and the mean bodily injury sub-dimension score was 30.45 ± 11.28. It was also found that the mean score of the Organ-Tissue Donation and Transplant Information Scale was 11.41 ± 2.59. A statistically significant and negative relationship was detected between the participants’ medical neglect and bodily injury attitudes and the Organ-Tissue Donation and Transplant Information Scale score averages (p < .05).

Conclusion and Suggestions: As a result, it was found that the positive attitudes of the caregivers of individuals receiving hemodialysis treatment about organ donation were at a good level, and as the level of organ transplantation knowledge increased, negative attitudes towards organ donation decreased. In this context, it can be suggested that healthcare professionals provide training on organ transplantation and donation to the relatives of patients receiving hemodialysis treatment.