Individual readiness for transplantation medicine of laypersons and the number of deceased organ donors: a cross-sectional online survey in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan

OBJECTIVES: The gap between the numbers of organ donors and recipients is a common problem worldwide. This study was designed to investigate the importance of ‘individual readiness’, a here introduced novel concept in transplantation medicine and a measure of positive attitudes towards organ donation and transplantation. DESIGN: A cross-sectional online survey was used to collect the research data. PARTICIPANTS: The participants were recruited by a Japanese research company and affiliates in South Korea and Taiwan and fulfilled the following criteria: (1) laypersons aged 18–75 years, (2) residents of the countries and (3) understood the questions in their native languages. PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURES: The survey investigated the interest and attitude of individuals regarding transplantation medicine by asking multiple choice questions. Based on answers concerning attitude, a positive group was identified as willing to be organ donors and recipients, and a non-positive group was identified as unwilling to be donors and recipients. The ratio between the positive and non-positive group, the P/N ratio, was introduced as an index of individual readiness. RESULTS: 1500 samples were included in this analysis. Individuals with interest agreed more with statements on organ donation than those without interest, and the P/N ratio per country was compatible with the actual deceased organ donors rate per million population (ADODR). CONCLUSIONS: Interest in transplantation medicine was associated with positive attitudes, and positive attitudes were associated with a higher ADODR. These results support that individual readiness is an important determinant for the number of donors. The P/N ratio can be used as an index to assess individual readiness in organ transplantation, at least in countries with minor to moderate popularisation. Further studies of individual readiness using the P/N ratio should be undertaken to develop policies and initiatives for increasing organ donations.