Organ Donation: Attitudes, Intentions, and Barriers of Filipino American Youth in Hawaii

There is a shortage of organ donors in the US. Recent studies have focused on increasing awareness about organ donation (OD) in ethnic minority adolescents. Health education interventions for adolescents have demonstrated improvements in knowledge and attitudes about organ donation; however, ethnic minority adolescents, especially Filipinos, have been underrepresented in such studies. Filipinos account for 48% of hemodialysis patients, and are least likely to be organ donors, due to cultural and religious beliefs regarding going to heaven whole and lack of organ donation awareness.

The purpose of this study was to collect information about the awareness, attitudes, barriers, and intentions of Filipino youth to become a designated donor (DD) on their first driver's license/state-issued ID card. Filipino teens in Hawaii were recruited from church youth groups & high school clubs, and completed a survey or participated in a focus group (n=208). Forty-three percent currently had a Hawaii driver's license or ID card, and 18% reported they were a DD on it. Twenty-one percent supported the concept of organ donation, and 46% were willing to talk to their parents about becoming a designated donor on their driver's license. Key barriers to becoming a DD included lack of knowledge about OD (41.4%), uncertainty about OD (93%), and not wanting their body cut up (64.3%).

Recommended actions include educating Filipino-American teens about how and why they should become designated organ donors, encouraging high schools to include organ donation education and establish guidelines on how to initiate family discussions about OD and cultural issues.