Moderating role of religiosity in determining attitude and willingness to communicate posthumous organ donation decision among university students in Pakistan

• Main Author: Umair, Sonia
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: 2020
• Subjects: Organ donors; Donation of organs, tissues, etc. - Decision making - Moral and ethical aspects; Donation of organs, tissues, etc. - Religious aspects
• Online Access: http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/89885/1/SPE%202020%2025%20UPM%20IR.pdf; http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/89885/
• Institution: Universiti Putra Malaysia

With the advancement in the field of organ transplantation, a growing number of people are being added to organ transplant waiting lists as it gives them hope to save their lives. Worldwide, there is a huge gap between the demand and supply of available organs and this shortage is the main limiting factor in organ transplantations. The purpose of this study was to explore the antecedents that influenced university students’ attitudes and willingness to donate and willingness to communicate the decisions to the families. In addition, the study also examined the moderating role of religiosity between willingness to donate and signing the donor card. Questionnaires were distributed among 450 university students at public and private universities of Lahore, Pakistan. Partial least squares structural equation modelling was used to analyze the direct hypotheses between the proposed constructs (altruism, knowledge, empathy, self-identity, attitude, social norms, moral norms, perceived behavior control, respondent’s willingness to donate, willingness to sign a donor card, willingness to communicate) and the moderating effect of religiosity between willingness to donate and signing the donor card. The results confirmed altruism, knowledge, empathy, and self-identity as the antecedents to attitude. This study also found that perceived behavioral control, moral norms, and attitude were antecedents to the willingness to donate organs after death. However, the relationship between social norms and the willingness to donate was not significant. Religiosity moderated the relationship between willingness to donate and signing the donor card, and it strengthened the relationship. The findings of this study provide insight into the factors which influence posthumous organ donation in young adults. The results of this study can be used by the health ministries, NGOs working on posthumous organ donation and the universities to tailor future programs and campaigns. The present study could not assess the actual behavior, and this was the main limitation of the study. Future studies can look in to measure the actual behavior of the respondents by signing the donor card. Also, future studies can take into consideration the role of personal values in the decision to become an organ donor and trust in the available medical facilities and staff.