Do people accept brain death as death? A study in Brazil.
BACKGROUND
Although the term brain death has been clinically and legally accepted as a death criterion, few data are published about public attitudes and beliefs concerning this topic.


OBJECTIVE
To examine public understanding of brain death and how the term brain death affects decisions about organ donation.


METHODS
Population-based cross-sectional study, with individuals aged 20 years or older in the urban area of Pelotas, State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The instrument used was a structured questionnaire, completed in individual interviews. chi2 and t test were used in the univariate and logistic regression in multivariate analysis.


RESULTS
Of 3159 participants, 80.1% would authorize organ donation from a relative who had previously declared a willingness to do so. However, when the words "brain death" were used as death, only 63% would authorize organ donation. When the subject had not been discussed, only a third of the participants would authorize the donation of a relative's organs.


CONCLUSIONS
When the term death was substituted with brain death, the willingness to donate decreased by 20%, suggesting that some individuals do not understand or accept the term brain death. Increasing comprehension about the concept of brain death and adopting educational strategies are essential to obtain higher rates of organ donation in developing countries.
Tessmer
Chiara Scaglioni
CS
Federal University of Pelotas, Brazil.
da Silva
André Rodrigues
AR
Barcellos
Franklin Correa
FC
Araujo
Cora Luiza
CL
da Costa
Juvenal Dias
JD
Böhlke
Maristela
M
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001293:Attitude to Death; D001926:Brain Death; D001938:Brazil; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014505:Urban Population