Public Perceptions
To continue honoring Donate Life Month, we want to share more information about the public’s attitudes toward donation and related actions.
Donate Life America, in partnership with Astellas Pharma US, Inc., commissioned an online survey of 5,100 adults in the United States. Fielded by Survey Sampling International in January 2010, and compared to the February 2009 survey, findings revealed both positive signs as well as barriers among the public.
Signs of Hope
- A majority of U.S. adults now wish to be organ or tissue donors –56 percent versus 50 percent in 2009.
- Among adults who have registered to be organ or tissue donors, 19 percent were previously reluctant or hesitant to do so.
- Three-fourths (75 percent) of those surveyed want their donation wishes fulfilled regardless of family desires, up from 2009.
- The percentage of adults who believe the organ and tissue allocation system is fair has increased in the past year – 37 percent versus 32 percent in 2009.
Challenges Ahead
- 52 percent of people incorrectly believe that doctors may not try as hard to save their lives if they know they wish to be organ or tissue donors.
- 19 percent of people are not sure they would be acceptable donors.
- Approximately half of adults (48 percent) believe a black market exists in the U.S. for organs and tissue, up from 44 percent in 2009.
- While only 16 percent believe a regular funeral is not possible following donation, this percentage is up from 13 percent in 2009 and 1 percent in 2004.
- 61 percent mistakenly believe it may be possible for a brain dead person to recover from his or her injuries.
- Despite the strong desire for first person consent, many barriers, including lack of urgency, exist regarding registration. 27 percent “just haven’t done it” or “gotten to it.”
- Among adults who wish to donate all or some of their organs or tissue but have not registered to do so, just over half (53 percent) say they do not know how to register, while another 25 percent are neutral.
With this knowledge we see that we have come very far, but we still have a long way to go. We are more determined than ever to continue to educate and enroll the Pacific Northwest into our state donor registries and bring new life and new hope to patient’s in need.
