Awareness, Attitude, and Beliefs Regarding Organ Donation Among the General Public in Saudi Arabia

Figures & data

Table 1 Socio-Demographic Characteristics of the Participants ^(n=3507)

Study Variables	N (%)
Age group
18–30 years	2389 (68.1%)
31–50 years	919 (26.2%)
51–70 years	191 (5.4%)
71 years and above	8 (0.2%)
Gender
Male	1472 (42.0%)
Female	2035 (58.0%)
Nationality
Saudi	3361 (95.8%)
Non-Saudi	146 (4.2%)
Region of residence
Central Region	721 (20.6%)
Northern Region	566 (16.1%)
Southern Region	532 (15.2%)
Western Region	718 (20.5%)
Eastern Region	970 (27.7%)
Employment status
Student	1664 (47.4%)
Governmental employed	761 (21.7%)
Non-governmental employed	410 (11.7%)
Unemployed	537 (15.3%)
Retired	135 (3.8%)
Educational level
Primary school	23 (0.70%)
Secondary school	47 (1.3%)
High school	1018 (29.0%)
Bachelor’s degree	2187 (62.4%)
Postgraduate	232 (6.6%)
Marital status
Single	2067 (58.9%)
Married	1362 (38.8%)
Divorced	60 (1.7%)
Widowed	18 (0.50%)

Table 2 Assessment of Participants’ Awareness and Belief Regarding Organ Donation ^(n=3507)

Awareness Statement	N (%)
Do you have an organ donor card?
Yes	378 (10.8%)
Are you aware of any local or international legislation with regard to organ donation?
Local legislation	525 (15.0%)
International legislation	85 (2.4%)
Both of the above	233 (6.6%)
None of the above	2664 (76.0%)
Beliefs statement
Should organ donation be promoted?
Yes	2052 (58.5%)
Is there any need for effective laws to govern the process of organ donation?
Yes	2997 (85.5%)
Measures to be taken by the government to be effective in promoting organ donation
Monetary benefit to the donor family	332 (9.5%)
Giving awards	164 (4.7%)
Free health treatment for the donor family	655 (18.7%)
All above	2356 (67.2%)
In your opinion what is the reason behind refusing to donate an organ for transplant?^†
Risk of medical error	1536 (43.8%)
Risk of organ trafficking	1649 (53.0%)
Religious reasons	1678 (47.8%)
Violation of body integrity	2023 (57.7%)
Factors hold the greatest importance near you when donating an organ
Age of recipient	259 (7.4%)
Religion of recipient	404 (11.5%)
Health status of the recipient	2384 (68.0%)
Relation to recipient	460 (13.1%)
What is your perception of organ donation?
To save someone’s life	3133 (89.3%)
Out of compassion/sympathy	101 (2.9%)
For money	41 (1.2%)
As a responsibility	232 (6.6%)
For a living donation, who should give consent?
Donor	3050 (87.0%)
His family	371 (10.6%)
His spouse	86 (2.5%)
For donation after death, who should give consent?
Family	2936 (83.7%)
Spouse	535 (15.3%)
Friend	36 (01.0%)
Who should make such decisions about organ donation in case of unclaimed dead bodies?
Charitable organization	394 (11.2%)
Medical colleges/doctors	932 (26.6%)
A judge	939 (26.8%)
No one	1242 (35.4%)

Note: ^†Variable with multiple response answers.

Table 3 Assessment of Participants’ Attitudes Regarding Organ Donation ^(n=3507)

Attitude statement	N (%)
Are you willing to donate your organs?^†
Yes	754 (21.5%)
Yes under special circumstances	1470 (41.9%)
Yes irrespective of the circumstances	93 (2.7%)
No	1190 (33.9%)
Who would you like to donate your organs to? ^†
Family member	1372 (39.1%)
Friend	85 (2.4%)
Anyone	2050 (58.5%)
Do you have an experience with the donation process in the family or others?
Yes	67 (1.9%)

Note: ^†Variable with multiple response answers.

Figure 1 Knowledge about the organs that can be transplanted in KSA.

Table 4 Awareness About Legislation Body of Organ Donation According to the Socio-Demographic Characteristics ^(n=3507)

Factor	Awareness about the Legislative Body for Organ Donation		P-value ^§
	Yes N (%) (n=843)	No N (%) (n=2664)
Age group
≤30 years	617 (73.2%)	1772 (66.5%)	<0.001***
>30 years	226 (26.8%)	892 (33.5%)
Gender
Male	345 (40.9%)	1127 (42.3%)	0.479
Female	498 (59.1%)	1537 (57.7%)
Region of residence
Central Region	198 (23.5%)	523 (19.6%)	0.001**
Northern Region	141 (16.7%)	425 (16.0%)
Southern Region	120 (14.2%)	412 (15.5%)
Western Region	194 (23.0%)	524 (19.7%)
Eastern Region	190 (22.5%)	780 (29.3%)
Employment status
Student	440 (52.2%)	1224 (45.9%)	0.006**
Employed	261 (31.0%)	910 (34.2%)
Unemployed	142 (16.8%)	530 (19.9%)
Educational level
High school or below	246 (29.2%)	842 (31.6%)	0.185
Bachelor’s degree or higher	597 (70.8%)	1822 (68.4%)
Marital status
Never been married	535 (63.5%)	1532 (57.5%)	0.002**
Been married	308 (36.5%)	1132 (42.5%)
Organ that can be transplanted in KSA^†
Kidney	645 (76.5%)	2036 (76.4%)	0.959
Heart	431 (51.1%)	1334 (50.1%)	0.594
Eyes	209 (24.8%)	514 (19.3%)	0.001**
Liver	628 (74.5%)	1834 (68.8%)	0.002**
Skin	222 (26.3%)	584 (21.9%)	0.008**
Bone marrow	414 (49.1%)	1131 (42.5%)	0.001**
Lungs	276 (32.7%)	759 (28.5%)	0.018*
Beliefs that organ donation should be promoted
Yes	555 (65.8%)	1497 (56.2%)	<0.001***
No	288 (34.2%)	1167 (43.8%)
Willingness to donate body organ
Yes	647 (76.7%)	1670 (62.7%)	<0.001***
No	196 (23.3%)	994 (37.3%)

Notes: ^†Variables with multiple response answers. ^§P-value has been calculated using the Chi-square test. Bold text indicates significance. *Significant at p<0.05 level. **Significant at p<0.01 level. ***Significant at p<0.001 level.

Table 5 Willingness to Donate Organs According to the Socio-Demographic Characteristics ^(n=3507)

Factor	Willingness to Donate Body Organ		P-value^§
	Yes N (%) (n=2317)	No N (%) (n=1190)
Age group
≤30 years	1634 (70.5%)	755 (63.4%)	<0.001***
>30 years	683 (29.5%)	435 (36.6%)
Gender
Male	897 (38.7%)	575 (48.3%)	<0.001***
Female	1420 (61.3%)	615 (51.7%)
Region of residence
Central Region	494 (21.3%)	227 (19.1%)	<0.001***
Northern Region	383 (16.5%)	183 (15.4%)
Southern Region	353 (15.2%)	179 (15.0%)
Western Region	503 (21.7%)	215 (18.1%)
Eastern Region	584 (25.2%)	386 (32.4%)
Employment status
Student	1168 (50.4%)	496 (41.7%)	<0.001***
Employed	744 (32.1%)	427 (35.9%)
Unemployed	405 (17.5%)	267 (22.4%)
Educational level
High school or below	715 (30.9%)	373 (31.3%)	0.768
Bachelor’s degree or higher	1602 (69.1%)	817 (68.7%)
Marital status
Never been married	1438 (62.1%)	629 (52.9%)	<0.001***
Been married	879 (37.9%)	561 (47.1%)
Organ that can be transplanted in Saudi Arabia^†
Kidney	1884 (81.3%)	797 (67.0%)	<0.001***
Heart	1277 (55.1%)	488 (41.0%)	<0.001***
Eyes	555 (24.0%)	168 (14.1%)	<0.001***
Liver	1755 (75.7%)	707 (59.4%)	<0.001***
Skin	619 (26.7%)	187 (15.7%)	<0.001***
Bone marrow	1147 (49.5%)	398 (33.4%)	<0.001***
Lungs	773 (33.4%)	262 (22.0%)	<0.001***
Beliefs that organ donation should be promoted
Yes	1600 (69.1%)	452 (38.0%)	<0.001***
No	717 (30.9%)	738 (62.0%)

Notes: ^†Variables with multiple response answers. ^§P-value has been calculated using the Chi-square test. Bold text indicates significance. ***Significant at p<0.001 level.

Table 6 Beliefs That Organ Donation Should Be Promoted According to the Socio-Demographic Characteristics ^(n=3507)

Factor	Beliefs that Organ Donation Should be Promoted		P-value^§
	Yes N (%) (n=2052)	No N (%) (n=1455)
Age group
≤30 years	1391 (67.8%)	998 (68.6%)	0.615
>30 years	661 (32.2%)	457 (31.4%)
Gender
Male	871 (42.4%)	601 (41.3%)	0.500
Female	1181 (57.6%)	854 (58.7%)
Region of residence
Central Region	439 (21.4%)	282 (19.4%)	0.034*
Northern Region	342 (16.7%)	224 (15.4%)
Southern Region	286 (13.9%)	246 (16.9%)
Western Region	436 (21.2%)	282 (19.4%)
Eastern Region	549 (26.8%)	421 (28.9%)
Employment status
Student	1006 (49.0%)	658 (45.2%)	0.005**
Employed	689 (33.6%)	482 (33.1%)
Unemployed	357 (17.4%)	315 (21.6%)
Educational level
High school or below	659 (32.1%)	429 (29.5%)	0.097
Bachelor’s degree or higher	1393 (67.9%)	1026 (70.5%)
Marital status
Never been married	1232 (60.0%)	835 (57.4%)	0.116
Been married	820 (40.0%)	620 (42.6%)
Organ that can be transplanted in Saudi Arabia^†
Kidney	1654 (80.6%)	1027 (70.6%)	<0.001***
Heart	1116 (54.4%)	649 (44.6%)	<0.001***
Eyes	522 (25.4%)	201 (13.8%)	<0.001***
Liver	1544 (75.2%)	918 (63.1%)	<0.001***
Skin	570 (27.8%)	236 (16.2%)	<0.001***
Bone marrow	1019 (49.7%)	526 (36.2%)	<0.001***
Lungs	708 (34.5%)	327 (22.5%)	<0.001***

Notes: ^†Variables with multiple response answers. ^§P-value has been calculated using Chi-square test. Bold text indicates significance. *Significant at p<0.05 level. **Significant at p<0.01 level. ***Significant at p<0.001 level.

Table 7 Predictors of Positive Attitude Towards Organs Donation

Study Variables	Odds Ratio of Having Positive Attitudes Towards Ograns Donation (95% Confidence Interval)	P-value
Age group
18–30 years (Reference category)	1.00
31–50 years	0.76 (0.65–0.89)	<0.001***
51–70 years	0.75 (0.56–1.01)	0.056
71 years and above	0.51 (0.13–2.05)	0.345
Gender
Female (Reference category)	1.00
Male	0.68 (0.59–0.78)	<0.001***
Nationality
Non-Saudi (Reference category)	1.00
Saudi	0.92 (0.61–1.39)	0.682
Employment status
Student (Reference category)	1.00
Governmental employed	0.85 (0.72–1.00)	0.049*
Non-governmental employed	0.92 (0.74–1.14)	0.445
Unemployed	0.72 (0.60–0.87)	<0.001***
Retired	0.87 (0.61–1.24)	0.437
Educational level
Primary school (Reference category)	1.00
Secondary school	0.69 (0.39–1.24)	0.211
High school	1.02 (0.87–1.18)	0.849
Bachelor’s degree	1.02 (0.88–1.18)	0.820
Postgraduate	1.02 (0.77–1.35)	0.917
Marital status
Single (Reference category)	1.00
Married	0.71 (0.62–0.82)	<0.001***
Divorced	0.77 (0.46–1.29)	0.318
Widowed	0.41 (0.16–1.04)	0.060

Notes: Bold text indicates significance. *Significant at p<0.05 level. ***Significant at p<0.001 level.