A systematic review on interventions increasing organ donation

Abstract

Objective: To synthesize evidence from the recent interventions to improve organ donation rates and attitude towards organ donation. The effective intervention is defined as significant increases in the enrollment rate of organ donation and positive changes of attitude. And the second one is to give recommendations on feasible intervention designs based on the specific situation of Mainland China.

Methods: A systematic review was conducted through PubMed, Cochrane Library, Google Scholar and reference lists. The quality of the studies was evaluated by CONSORT guideline.

Results: Nine randomized control studies were included in this systematic review, and the quality of all these studies was average. The main targets of the studies were religious beliefs, distrust medical system, lack of knowledge and fear of premature death. Using lay health advisors, implementing lecture, presentation and discussion, and exposure to mass media with donation information frequently were all identified as effective components to change the attitude and improve the enrollment rate.

Conclusion: Based on this systematic review, discrepant interventions could change the public attitude towards organ donation and improve the enrollment donation rate in the United States. However, given the cultural differences in China, more research is needed to see whether implementation of these interventions could improve the situation of organ donation in China.