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Although 75 percent. Poles declare that they would agree to become a donor, in practice transplantology is lame, and the prospects are not optimistic. We only have 13 donors per million inhabitants. Paradoxically, young people are the least willing to donate their organs. They are not convinced by educational campaigns or stories of famous people who have decided to donate organs, publicized in the media.
As part of our campaign “We choose the truth”, we recall selected texts from TvoiLokona that influenced the reality around us. In the coming months, more articles from the series will be presented on the TvoiLokony home page. This text originally appeared on Onet in November 2019.
- Research shows that Poles agree to donate organs for transplantation. Unfortunately, in practice there is still a shortage of donors. According to «Poltransplant», we currently have an average of 13 donors per million inhabitants in Poland
- People over 55 are more likely to donate organs, and young people between 18 and 24 are the least likely
- As psychologist Katarzyna Mędrala-Zając says, it should not surprise us – young people are at such a stage that they do not think about disease or death.
- You can find more such stories on the TvoiLokony home page
Poles declare their willingness to donate organs during life and after death
The survey “Influence of religiosity on pro-social behavior measured by acceptance of organ / tissue donation for transplantation purposes” conducted under the auspices of the Polish Transplant Society shows that the majority of Poles (75%) declare that they would agree to become a living organ donor for a loved one, and 73 percent he agrees to donate his own organs for transplant after death. Four percent are strongly opposed to living donation. of respondents, and seven percent do not agree to donating organs after death. respondents. 21 and 20 percent, respectively, are undecided.
It is noteworthy that this people over 55 years of age most often expressed a desire to become a living donor for a loved one. Such a declaration was made by 83 percent. subjects. The lowest percentage of people declaring their willingness to be living donors is among people aged 18-24 (65%).
– People in this age group of 18-24 live their lives and for themselves. The older a person is, the more needed he feels for others, and he appreciates that if he can be a donor, he agrees to it. Especially when it comes to the younger family member. It seems to me that young people believe that they are self-sufficient, they see no reason why they should share their organs – explains Krzysztof Pabisiak from the Department of Nephrology, Transplantology and Internal Diseases from the Hospital in Szczecin.
Psychologist Katarzyna Mędrala-Zając agrees with Dr. Pabisiak.
– The period between the age of 18 and 24 is the time when we stabilize our identity, we work especially hard for our independence and integrity in all spheres of life. It is a time of action here and now that will bring about future welfare. During this period, we do not confront death, and thoughts of disintegration arouse fear in us. Additionally, if we consider being a living donor, we have a real risk of complications and the inability to predict the future. A young man has a long life ahead of him, which means that he is also likely to suffer from the disease. I am not surprised that when asked if you would become a donor, people of this age impulsively answer “no”.
The largest number of people who cannot clearly answer the question whether they would become donors is in the 25-34 age group and amounts to 29%. The least categorical refusals are in the age group 35-44 (1%).
There are many declarations of organ donation and fewer and fewer transplants
The poll shows that 75 percent. Poles would agree to become a living donor, and 73 percent. would donate its organs after death. This is optimistic. On the other hand, however, we have the “Poltransplantu” report, which shows that hospitals are reporting fewer and fewer potential deceased organ donorsresulting in fewer transplants. But this is not the only problem of Polish transplantology.
As Artur Kamiński, director of the Poltransplant Organization and Coordination Center for transplantation, said in an interview with Onet, donation from living persons is also poorly developed in Poland. In other countries, liver and kidney transplants from living donors are commonplace and are performed several hundred a year. There are several dozen such procedures in our country.
— In Poland, the so-called live donation is a small percentage and does not exceed five percent. kidney transplants. Overall, we see a decline in organ donation, but it cannot be viewed in the way that polls declare their willingness to donate and then withdraw from it. It is always the case that declarations in such polls are few percent. larger, but comparing our survey with others, I believe that this readiness to be a donor is high – adds Pabisiak.
Even though the majority of society is willing to donate organs to their loved ones, Polish transplantology is not developing as dynamically as in other European countries. Data from “Poltransplantu” show that we currently have only 13 donors per million inhabitants.
Willingness to be a donor and trust in health protection
Pabisiak also draws attention to one more important aspect included in the survey. 58 percent of the respondents declared that they do not trust the health care system. Among these people, only 69 percent. declared that it would still decide to donate organs for transplant after death. Among people who declared that they trusted the health care system, this percentage was higher and amounted to 77%.
– Trust in the health system can influence an individual’s view of health care in general. If this contact between the patient and the doctor or other health care worker is negative, it later affects the whole. And this then carries over to all medical activities. If there is a good climate around a given facility and people trust doctors, this may translate into possible interviews in the case of, for example, organ harvesting. People will be willing to make the decision to donate organs because they will have confidence in protecting their health.
People known and liked can also influence the promotion of transplantation. The whole of Poland lived by the cause of Przemysław Saleta and his daughter. The boxer handed over the kidney to the girl. Actor Jarosław Jakimowicz was a donor of a part of the liver for his son. Selena Gomez received a kidney from her friend, and Steve Jobs was the recipient of the liver fragment.
Other celebrities also declare their readiness to donate organs after death – Julia Wieniawa, Pascal Brodnicki, Marika and Tomasz Wolny. The stars appeared in short spots as part of the “Solidarity for transplantation” campaign, in which they reminded that each of us can be a donor and thus save other people’s lives.
Organ donation after death and faith
We also learn from the survey that 70 percent. believers would agree to donate their organs for transplant after death. Among non-believers, this percentage is 81%.
– It is visible in the literature on the subject that people who practice faith to a greater extent are more closed in their circle. This does not mean, however, that they are less willing to help. But if they decide to donate organs, it will be someone from their close circle. Not necessarily a family member, but for example a member of one religious community. However, they are not convinced to donate their organs after death to complete strangers – explains Pabisiak.
Our expert also mentions that officially the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church (this religion is the majority in our country) accepts and supports the donation of organs after death.
A survey on the acceptance of organ and tissue donation was conducted in the Ariadna panel, on a nationwide sample of N = 1028 people aged 18 and over. The structure of the sample was selected according to the representation in the population for sex, age and size of the place of residence.
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