A survey on the attitudes of 252 Japanese nurses towards Organ Transplantation and Brain Death
Seewald, Ralph
Seewald, Ralph
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Abstract
;Both in the West and in Japan anthropologists have commented on the reluctance of the Japanese to accept organ transplantation as a standard form of treatment, Morioka (1995), Lock (1995). The assumption is that elements in the Japanese culture; like the Japanese folk religion, view of the dead body, and distrust in the medical profession make it very difficult to see organ transplantation as an acceptable medical treatment. ;The purpose of the study below is to clarify with the aid of a 75-item questionnaire: 1. the attitudes of Japanese nurses toward brain death and organ transplantation; 2. the beliefs of Japanese nurses about bodily remains as related to organ transplantation. Of the 252 nurses that filled out the questionnaire, 21 had signed a donor card. Overall 116 (46%) have a donor card or are willing to sign a donor card, called: DONOR. The 119 nurses (47.2%) who were opposed or more or less opposed to signing a donor card were called: NON-DONOR. Most of the nurses without a donor card could not give a precise reason for not signing a donor card, however the younger the nurse, the more positive their attitude towards organ donation is. Also nurses of no religion are more positive about organ donation compared to the nurses who claim to have a religion. There was hardly any relation according to the data between features of the Japanese folk religion like; making the first Shrine visit of the year, wearing an amulet, or thinking it is possible to have contact with a deceased family member, believing in life after death or not, and being positive about organ donation. However, nurses who have a donor card or are positive about organ donation, agree more that brain death is the death of a person. 80.2% of DONOR agreed that brain death is the death of a person, as compared with 49.6% of NON-DONOR. NON-DONOR have more fear of the mutilation of one fs dead body than DONOR. If we compare nurses who were positive about organ donation (DONOR) with those who were negative about organ donation (NON-DONOR), yields the following relations: 1. DONOR were more apt to give their body for medical research after death. 2. DONOR mind much less if autopsy is performed on their body after death. 3. DONOR object twice less if a dead body needs to be cut open for the sake of organ transplantation surgery
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2000-05
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With permission of the license/copyright holder