Evaluation of organ donor card holders among public officials of a major German city.
BACKGROUND
Each year in Germany, the lack of donor organs results in more than 1000 patients dying while on the transplant waiting list. At the same time, there is an organ donor potential that is not being exploited. The objective of this study was to collect the rate of holders of organ donor cards among public officials in a major German city.


METHODS
In 2007, a survey was conducted among public officials in Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, regarding the topic of organ donation. Gender, age, and the "indicator for organ donation willingness" were stratified and analyzed according to the holding of organ donor cards.


RESULTS
A total of 1582 completely answered questionnaires were evaluated; 20.92% of the respondents had an organ donor card. No statistically significant association between gender (P = .0691), age (P = .8513), or possession of a donor card could be determined. We observed a significant correlation (P < .0001) between the indicator for organ donation willingness and possession of an organ donor card.


CONCLUSIONS
Based on current research, we consider an up-to-date, broader-reaching, representative inquiry necessary for our society. Should this present similar results, then a special education campaign is necessary, which considers sociocultural backgrounds and responds to the indicator for organ donation willingness that we analyzed. In so doing, one individual goal is the promotion of health and body awareness and thus an increase in the associated potential organ donor willingness.
Heuer
M
M
Department of General-, Visceral- and Transplantation Surgery, University Hospital of Essen, Essen, Germany.
Hertel
S
S
Wirges
U
U
Philipp
T
T
Gerken
G
G
Paul
A
A
Kaiser
G M
GM
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010348:Patient Care Team; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014019:Tissue Donors / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D009927:Tissue and Organ Procurement; D014505:Urban Population; D055815:Young Adult