Actitud hacia la donación renal de vivo entre el personal sin relación con el trasplante en un hospital con programa de trasplante de órganos sólidos de cadáver y de vivo

Abstract

Introduction: Because of the shortage of kidney organs available for transplantation and the favorable outcomes described in living donation, this type of donation is necessity in Spain. However, living donation has yet to be developed and this may be partly because hospital personnel do not have an entirely favorable attitude toward this type of donation. The objective of this study was to analyze attitudes toward living kidney donation among health workers in services that are not usually in contact with transplantation services in a hospital with a cadaveric and living donor solid organ transplant program. Materials and methods: A random sample of hospital staff was taken and stratified according to service and job category. Attitudes toward living kidney donation were evaluated using a psychosocial questionnaire about living donation. The questionnaire was completed anonymously and was self-administered. Student’s t-test and the χ2 test were applied. Results: A total of 419 respondents were analyzed (physicians n=184, nurses n=119, healthcare assistants n=80 and ancillary personnel n =36), with a mean age of 37 ± 10 years (63 % were women). Most respondents [88 % (n = 372)] were in favor of living kidney donation if it was for a relative. Of the remaining respondents 5 % (n = 19) were against and 7 % (n = 28) were undecided. No significant differences were found according to job category among physicians, nurses, healthcare assistants or ancillary personnel. Analysis of the variables influencing attitude showed an association with the following 3 variables only: a respondent’s belief that he or she might need an organ (p = 0.000), being in favor of living liver donation (p =0.000), and being in favor of cadaveric donation (p = 0.020). Conclusions: Hospital personnel who are not in contact with transplant-related services are in favor of related living kidney donation and therefore constitute a subgroup that could act in the direct or indirect promotion of this type of donation. However, it would be useful to organize awareness-raising campaigns in the hospital to encourage and strengthen support for this type of donation.