Knowledge and opinions about organ donation and transplantation among Vietnamese Americans in Seattle, Washington: a pilot study

BACKGROUND: Racial/ethnic minorities comprise almost 50% of registrants on national waiting lists for organ transplantation in the USA. As the list continues to expand, organ shortage becomes a bigger problem. Increasing donation rates especially among racial minority groups would lower the waiting times for these groups. PURPOSE: Asian Americans are among the fastest growing and most diverse ethnic group in the USA, but research on their knowledge or opinions about organ donation is rare. POPULATION: A non-random sample of 350 Vietnamese American church attendees and students attending a major university in Seattle (Washington), was drawn. METHODS: A self-administered 39-item knowledge/opinion-based survey was conducted during June to August 2003. Results: Of 278 respondents (a 79.7% response rate), 69.1% knew blood-type made a difference in donation (p = 0.000), 61.6% knew transplant survival rates were high (p = 0.000), and 75.9% knew transplants could come from living donors (p = 0.000). But 53.4% also thought organs could be sold for money in the USA (p = 0.000), and 49.8% thought more people died of auto accidents and gunshot wounds than from heart disease (p = 0.000). Those who answered correctly to more than 50% of the knowledge questions were also more likely to favor donation (p = 0.007). CONCLUSION: We found among this study population that having correct knowledge about organ donation related to a willingness to donate.