Organ Donation in Iraq: Public Perception and Social Influences
Background: Iraq was one of the first countries to establish kidney transplantation services in the Arab world, in 1973. This long history has affected people's attitudes towards organ donation; however, Iraqis, like all Middle Eastern people, are heavily influenced by religious, cultural, and...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
University of Anbar
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Al-Anbar Medical Journal |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://amj.uoanbar.edu.iq/article_188617_abddfbc4be4bc6c91f59fe813172a4e2.pdf |
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| Summary: | Background: Iraq was one of the first countries to establish kidney transplantation services in the Arab world, in 1973. This long history has affected people's attitudes towards organ donation; however, Iraqis, like all Middle Eastern people, are heavily influenced by religious, cultural, and tribal norms and traditions.Objectives: To explore the current view of Iraqis towards organ donation, their possible explanation, and ways of raising people's awareness towards organ donation.Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study targeted adult Arabic-speaking Iraqis. Between December 2021 and June 2022, a self-administered questionnaire was distributed through the Facebook platform. The questionnaire comprised 10 specific questions covering important aspects of organ donation ethics and knowledge. The collected data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics.Results: We collected a total of 2411 responses. Females predominated, making up around three-quarters (72.8%). The mean age was 25.6 years, and around half were university students (48.5%). The limited organ donation practice has been attributed to the lack of health awareness in the general population by 56.5% of the responders. Studied Iraqis hold adequate knowledge about organ donation in terms of time, age, donatable organs, and possible recipients. Only 24.4% of the responders reported some conflict between their religious beliefs and organ donation. Interestingly, sex and education level affected only answers related to the time of donation and the willingness to donate organs after death (P-values were 0.023 for the association between time of donation and education level and 0.001 for the other three associations).Conclusion: This study would provide a deep understanding of the Iraqi attitude toward organ donation and help plan future regulations and practices of this vital aspect of health care. |
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| ISSN: | 2706-6207 2664-3154 |