title: Online intervention study--Willingness to donate organs among the employees of a German University.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Organ shortage remains a major challenge in transplantation medicine. The aim of this study was to analyze the public's willingness to donate organs and to observe whether increased knowledge about organ donation has an effect on the attitude toward organ donation. The study in particular tested the efficacy of using electronic communication as a means to distribute information.
  
  
  METHODS
  In 2011, an Email invitation to participate in a survey was sent to the employees of the University Duisburg-Essen. The survey consisted of a two-piece questionnaire with an informational intervention on organ donation between the questionnaires. The technical design ensured that interviewees remained anonymous and could participate only once.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In total, 1,818 interviewees completed the questionnaire. Of the respondents, 42% were organ-donor card holders (which was consistent among genders and age groups), whereas 87% of the interviewees would support an organ donation for themselves. Of the interviewees who did not possess an organ-donor card, 67% were positively inclined toward holding one in future after reading the interventional information.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The considerable improvement in attitude toward carrying an organ-donor card after reading the information illustrates the effectiveness of distributing concise information on organ donation. To increase the willingness to donate organs, it is of great importance to inform the public and facilitate the documentation of a decision to donate. The present study has proven the use of Email communication to be an important asset to this process.
authors.affiliation: Department of General, Visceral- and Transplantation Surgery, University Hospital of Essen, Hufelandstr.55, 45122, Essen, Germany. matthias.heuer@uk-essen.de.
authors.forename: Matthias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Heuer
authors.affiliation: Department of General, Visceral- and Transplantation Surgery, University Hospital of Essen, Hufelandstr.55, 45122, Essen, Germany. sonia.radunz@uk-essen.de.
authors.forename: Sonia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Radunz
authors.affiliation: Department of General, Visceral- and Transplantation Surgery, University Hospital of Essen, Hufelandstr.55, 45122, Essen, Germany. vonhugo@gmx.de.
authors.forename: Friederike
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: von Hugo
authors.affiliation: Department of General, Visceral- and Transplantation Surgery, University Hospital of Essen, Hufelandstr.55, 45122, Essen, Germany. carmen.kirchner@uk-essen.de.
authors.forename: Carmen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kirchner
authors.affiliation: Department of General, Visceral- and Transplantation Surgery, University Hospital of Essen, Hufelandstr.55, 45122, Essen, Germany. wittenburg.n@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Natalie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Wittenburg
authors.affiliation: The Center for Higher Education Development and Quality Enhancement, University of Duisburg-Essen, Duisburg, Germany. karl-heinz.stammen@uni-due.de.
authors.forename: Karl-Heinz
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Stammen
authors.affiliation: Department of General, Visceral- and Transplantation Surgery, University Hospital of Essen, Hufelandstr.55, 45122, Essen, Germany. andreas.paul@uk-essen.de.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Paul
authors.affiliation: Department of General, Visceral- and Transplantation Surgery, University Hospital of Essen, Hufelandstr.55, 45122, Essen, Germany. gernot.kaiser@uk-essen.de.
authors.forename: Gernot
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kaiser
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001290:Attitude; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014019:Tissue Donors / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D009927:Tissue and Organ Procurement / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014495:Universities; D055815:Young Adult