SECTION I
SUPPORT FOR ORGAN DONATION
"In general, do you support or oppose the donation
of organs for transplants?"
TABLE 1
General Support/Opposition to Organ Donation
% % %
Support Oppose Don't
Know
Total (n=6,127) 85% 6% 9%
Gender
Male (n=2,589) 87% 6% 7%
Female (n=3,538) 83 7 10
Age
18-24 (n=695) 81% 10% 9%
25-34 (n=1,442) 85 7 8
35-44 (n=1,465) 91 4 5
45-54 (n=889) 86 4 9
55+ (n=1,566) 81 7 11
Education
High school or less (n=2,377) 80% 9% 11%
Some college (n=1,763) 90 3 7
College graduate (n=1,922) 95 2 3
Race/Ethnicity
White (n=4,816) 87% 5% 8%
Black (n=722) 69 18 13
Hispanic (n=741) 75 15 10
- Nearly nine in ten Americans support the general concept of organ
donation. Support for the concept of organ donation is positively
correlated with higher levels of education.
- Support for the concept of organ donation is lower among nonwhite
than among white respondents.
Support For Organ Donation 3
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"How likely are you to want to have your organs donated after your
death? Would you say very likely, somewhat likely, not very likely,
or not at all likely?"
TABLE 2
Likelihood to Donate Own Organs
% % % Not Very/ %
Very SomewhatNot At All Don't Mean
Likely Likely Likely Know Score*
Total (n=6,127) 37% 32% 25% 6% 2.97
Gender
Male (n=2,589) 36% 35% 23% 6% 2.97
Female (n=3,538) 37 31 25 6 2.97
Age
18-24 (n=695) 33% 41% 22% 5% 2.98
25-34 (n=1,442) 38 40 17 5 3.12
35-44 (n=1,465) 50 28 17 5 3.25
-45-54 (n=889) 41 36 18 5 3.14
55+ (n=1,566) 27 26 38 9 2.61
Education
High school or less (n=2,377) 28% 32% 32% 8% 2.75
Some college (n=1,763) 45 36 16 3 3.21
College graduate (n=1,922) 53 29 12 4 3.35
Race/Ethnicity
White (n=4,816) 39% 33% 23% 6% 3.03
Black (n=722) 21 31 28 10 2.50
Hispanic (n=741) 31 26 34 9 2.75
* 4=very likely, 3=somewhat likely, 2=not very likely, l=not at all likely
- More than one-third of Americans (37%) reported they are very likely to donate
their own organs after their death and an additional one-third (32%) reported they
are somewhat likely to donate. One-quarter (25%) are not likely to donate their
organs.
- There was virtually no difference in likelihood to donate between men and women.
Likelihood to donate increases significantly with higher educational attainment.
Nonwhites are also less likely than whites to want to have their organs donated.
4 Support for Organ Donation
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"Is there a particular reason you are not likely to want to have your
organs donated upon your death? What might that reason be?"
(Asked of respondents who reported they are not likely to want to have
their organs donated)
TABLE 3
Reason Respondents Are Not Likely to Have Organs Donated
(n=1,333)
Response % Mention
Medical reasons 13%
Too old 10
Don't want body cut up/want to be buried as whole person 9
Don't feel right about it 6
Against religion 5
Other 10
No reason/don't know/haven't given much thought 47
- Nearly half of respondents currently unwilling to donate their
organs may be amenable to persuasive information since 47% were
unable to give a concrete reason for their current stand.
- Thirteen percent (13%) cited perceived medical reasons, while 10%
felt they were "too old."
- Black and Hispanic respondents were much less likely to cite being
too old as the reason for their reluctance to become donors. This
difference is not surprising since nonwhites in the data were
significantly younger than white respondents. Black and Hispanic
respondents were also more likely than whites to indicate a desire
to be buried "intact."
Support For Organ Donation 5
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