Brain death versus irreversible cardiac arrest--the background and consequences of young people's opinions on stating death in Polish transplantology.
BACKGROUND
Brain death and irreversible cardiac arrest (ICA) are legally valid diagnoses obligatory for stating organ donors' death in Poland. Their misinterpretation may affect one's attitude toward organ donation. We assessed young people's knowledge and attitudes toward stating death in transplantology and their impact on attitude toward organ transplantation.


METHODS
A total of 400 medical and 400 nonmedical students from public universities in Kraków, Poland, participated. Data were collected with a questionnaire examining demographic factors and transplantologic issues.


RESULTS
Brain death diagnosis has a stronger association with stating death in transplantology than ICA, although the level of trust for this diagnosis remains relatively low among nonmedical respondents (38.5% vs 78.5%). Professional knowledge about stating brain death did not correlate with the level of trust for said diagnosis as strongly as it was expected, suggesting the presence of alternate contributing factors, some identified as doubts about brain death criteria (31.5%), distrust for the medical staff's education (25%), and objectivity (20%).


CONCLUSIONS
The number of nonpositive attitudes toward organ transplantation was significantly higher among respondents unwilling to accept brain death as the death of a human being, a statement proven to be related to one's opinion about the reliability of said diagnosis, one's awareness of an alternative diagnosis of ICA, and one's general transplantologic knowledge. However, a low number of respondents acknowledging ICA as the only diagnosis valid for stating death of a cadaveric donor (7.6%) suggests that the majority of young Poles are willing to accept brain death as an equally valid, if not more significant, diagnosis.
Department of Internal Medicine and Angiology, Brothers Hospitallers' of St John of God Hospital, Kraków, Poland. Electronic address: ewelina.ag.nowak@gmail.com.
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Nowak
Department of Cardiovascular Surgery and Transplantology, John Paul II Hospital, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland.
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Pfitzner
Cardiosurgical Students' Scientific Group, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Kraków, Poland.
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Koźlik
Cardiosurgical Students' Scientific Group, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Kraków, Poland.
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Kozynacka
Cardiosurgical Students' Scientific Group, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Kraków, Poland.
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Durajski
Department of Cardiovascular Surgery and Transplantology, John Paul II Hospital, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland.
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Wasilewski
Department of Cardiovascular Surgery and Transplantology, John Paul II Hospital, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland.
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Przybyłowski
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001364:Awareness; D001926:Brain Death; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006323:Heart Arrest; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016377:Organ Transplantation; D011044:Poland; D013334:Students; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014019:Tissue Donors; D009927:Tissue and Organ Procurement; D035502:Trust; D014495:Universities