Living liver donation: Attitudes of the general public and general practitioners in Scotland

Citation

McGregor LM, Hayes PC & O'Carroll R (2008) Living liver donation: Attitudes of the general public and general practitioners in Scotland. Psychology and Health, 23 (5), pp. 603-616. https://doi.org/10.1080/08870440701864512

Abstract
In April 2006, the Scottish Liver Transplant Unit in Edinburgh became the first NHS transplant unit in the UK to offer adult-to-adult living donor liver transplantation (LDLT). This procedure allows a healthy individual to donate part of their liver to someone with end-stage liver disease. With donations from the deceased in short supply, this procedure has the capacity to save lives. The aim of this study was to explore the attitudes of the general public and general practitioners (GPs) towards LDLT, before its implementation. A total of 1041 members of the Scottish general public and 155 GPs working in Scotland completed a short questionnaire devised for this study. The majority of participants supported the option of LDLT, but frequency counts showed that only 34% of the general public wish to donate their organs following death compared to 85% of GPs. With regards to an acceptable risk of death before volunteering to donate, 25% of GPs would accept a 1 in 20 risk of death, whereas 50% of the general public either could not make a decision or selected 'No risk'. The question of how well people understand the concept of risk was again highlighted in this study.

Keywords
liver, transplant, living donation, attitudes

Journal
Psychology and Health: Volume 23, Issue 5

People

Dr Lesley McGregor

Senior Lecturer in Psychology, Psychology

Professor Ronan O'Carroll

Professor, Psychology