Knowledge and Attitude of Health Personnel at the Garraf Health Consortium Regarding Donation and Transplantation

IntroductionThe main objective of this study was to determine the attitude and knowledge regarding donation and transplantation of the medical and nursing staff at a community hospital in the province of Barcelona.MethodsThis is descriptive, cross-sectional observational study was conducted in the Garraf Health Consortium, a second-level community hospital located in Sant Pere de Ribes. The study population consisted wholly of health professionals who agreed to participate voluntarily in the study. To determine the attitude and knowledge regarding donation and transplantation, a questionnaire was designed, consisting of 36 items divided into 3 sections: data on attitudes, knowledge about donation and transplantation, and sociodemographic and work-related data. We distributed 380 questionnaires; 236 were returned (62.10%).ResultsA total of 70.8% of respondents said they would like to be an organ and tissue donor compared with 1.7% who did not want to be a donor (mainly for fear of inferior medical care, for religious reasons, or both). Among the respondents, 98.7% agree with organ donation, 58.8% were not sure about the criteria for inclusion in the waiting list of Spain, and 69.1% agreed with the view that brain death is equivalent to death.ConclusionsWe found a positive attitude toward donation and transplantation in the hospital, but more knowledge is needed to increase the donation rate.