Knowledge, attitudes and beliefs on donation and transplantation in Honduras

Abstract

In order to know the points of view, knowledgment and beliefs of the Honduran population towards the donation and transplantation proceedings, a transversal, descriptive study was done through simple random sample of 300 individuals corresponding to relatives of patients from the Emergency room; Intensive Care Unite; Ophtalmology Service and blood donnors in two of the biggest public hospitals in the country, also to relatives of the deceased who claim their relatives at the Medical examiner´s office in Tegucigalpa; medical and paramedical personnel of both hospitals; finding that despite 70% of the people interviewed have a positive intention to donate, the principal limiting factors for the no donation are no knowing will of their relatives about the disposition of their organs and tissues when they die (43%); little information about organ donation (42%); fear of corpse damage or corpse disfigure during the process (31.4%) and the lack of knowledge of where to go to authorize the process (31%). Our results do not show fundamental differences towards the intention to donate among relatives, blood donors and the medical personnel, but they do reflect significant differences with the age and civil status. The results indicate that if Honduras wants to implement a succesful transplants program, it has to promote an open dialogue between the population and the key actors of the process, heading to a better comprehension on all levels and to the creation of a multidisciplinary teamwork