Asian transplant registry

Heart Transplant in Asia

The prevalence of heart failure has increased in Asia. A significant proportion of patients with heart failure and left ventricular dysfunction end up with advanced heart failure or end-stage heart disease. These patients may be placed on the waiting list for heart transplant. There are more than 10 countries in Asia that have an active heart transplant program. The number of heart transplants performed is limited despite an increase in the number of patients with end-stage heart failure mainly because of donor shortage, which may be related to religious belief and inefficient allocation policy.

Knowledge, attitudes and practices survey on organ donation among a selected adult population of Pakistan

Background

To determine the knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding organ donation in a selected adult population in Pakistan.

Methods

Convenience sampling was used to generate a sample of 440; 408 interviews were successfully completed and used for analysis. Data collection was carried out via a face to face interview based on a pre-tested questionnaire in selected public areas of Karachi, Pakistan. Data was analyzed using SPSS v.15 and associations were tested using the Pearson's Chi square test. Multiple logistic regression was used to find independent predictors of knowledge status and motivation of organ donation.

Results

Knowledge about organ donation was significantly associated with education (p = 0.000) and socioeconomic status (p = 0.038). 70/198 (35.3%) people expressed a high motivation to donate. Allowance of organ donation in religion was significantly associated with the motivation to donate (p = 0.000). Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that higher level of education and higher socioeconomic status were significant (p < 0.05) independent predictors of knowledge status of organ donation. For motivation, multiple logistic regression revealed that higher socioeconomic status, adequate knowledge score and belief that organ donation is allowed in religion were significant (p < 0.05) independent predictors. Television emerged as the major source of information. Only 3.5% had themselves donated an organ; with only one person being an actual kidney donor.

Conclusion

Better knowledge may ultimately translate into the act of donation. Effective measures should be taken to educate people with relevant information with the involvement of media, doctors and religious scholars.

Organ Transplantation Laws in Asian Countries: A Comparative Study

Legal tools are a necessity in organ procurement to allow transplant surgeons to remove organs from potential sources. In some countries the organ transplantation law may not only increase the organ retrieval rate, but may also decrease the number of transplantations. Reassessing the impact of organ transplantation laws on the application of transplant technology is therefore an emerging issue. This article discusses organ transplantation laws in eight Asian countries: Japan, Korea, India, Iran, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and Turkey. The organ transplantation laws of each of these countries were compared in terms of how they address the issues of definition of death; donor consent; the role of family and surrogate decision making; age limitation for organ donation; organ trade and donor compensation; and the organ procurement model.