title: Regional Survey of Tissue Donation Among the General Public and Medical Staffs Around Osaka, Japan.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Because tissue transplantation (TTx) has not been familiar to the general public or even to medical staffs in Japan, awareness of TTx is very important to increase tissue donation. Our primary aim was to describe the current status of awareness of TTx in medical staffs and in the general public around Osaka.
  
  
  METHODS
  Between July 2014 and February 2015, 1015 general public citizens, 203 medical staff members working in emergency hospitals, and 168 cardiothoracic surgeons were invited to complete a letter or web-based survey through the use of a self-designed questionnaire.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the general public citizens, only 25.1% knew about TTx, whereas 54.7% knew about organ transplantation (OTx); 25.4% agreed to donate their organs or tissues and 17.3% disagreed to donate their organs or tissues. In medical staff members working in emergency hospitals, 58.7% knew about TTx; 82.3% agreed to support organ or tissue procurement and 10.8% disagreed to do so. Among cardiothoracic surgeons, 78.7% knew about TTx; 33.2% had used valve or vascular homografts and 57.4% wanted to use them if possible.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  According to these surveys, public awareness of TTx has been less than that of OTx, but willingness to donate tissue was not different from that of donating organs. Awareness of TTx in medical staffs in emergency hospitals was higher but still not satisfactory. To increase tissue donation in Japan, the East and West Japan Tissue Transplant Network, in collaboration with cardiothoracic surgeons, should make more effort to carry out dissemination and awareness regarding TTx to the general public and to medical staffs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Transplant Medicine, National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center, Osaka, Japan.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ogawa
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiac Surgery, National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center, Osaka, Japan.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fujita
authors.affiliation: Department of Transplant Medicine, National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center, Osaka, Japan. Electronic address: nori@ncvc.go.jp.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Fukushima
authors.affiliation: Department of Transplant Medicine, National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center, Osaka, Japan.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nakatani
authors.affiliation: Sakai City Medical Center, Osaka, Japan.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kitamiura
authors.affiliation: Department of Administration, Hyogo Medical College, Hyogo, Japan.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Imamura
authors.affiliation: Hyogo Eye Bank, Kobe University Hospital, Hyogo, Japan.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Watanabe
authors.affiliation: Fukuoka Medical Center, Fukuoka, Japan.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Iwata
authors.affiliation: Department of Regenerative Medicine and Transplantation, Fukuoka University, Fukuoka, Japan.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kinjo
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001364:Awareness; D000072096:Cardiologists / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D008503:Medical Staff / Q000523:psychology*; D008505:Medical Staff, Hospital / Q000193:education / Q000523:psychology; D008875:Middle Aged; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D011639:Public Opinion; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014019:Tissue Donors / Q000523:psychology; D009927:Tissue and Organ Procurement; D055815:Young Adult