Moving beyond attitudinal barriers: Understanding African Americans' support for organ and tissue donation

Purpose: African Americans are disproportionately represented among individuals in need of an organ transplant, due in part to low donation rates in this population. The research literature has focused on attitudinal barriers to donation; however, the current study explores individual experiences and values that contribute to supportive attitudes toward organ and tissue donation. Procedures: Focus group participants were 26 African-American clergymen and 42 African-American parishioners recruited from seven Christian churches in the metro Atlanta area. Findings: Although a large number of participants had previous exposure to organ and tissue donation and transplantation, the majority of these experiences were negative, and participants felt a general fear and lack of knowledge about the process of donation and transplantation. Despite these negative experiences, respondents reported personal values (e.g., the desire to help others and acceptance of group responsibility) and religious values (e.g., the desire to carry out God's will and to have faith in God) that contribute to supportive attitudes toward organ and tissue donation. Conclusion: An understanding of supportive attitudes toward donation may help improve the development of effective culturally sensitive intervention messages targeting the African-American religious community with the ultimate goal of increasing the pool of organs available for transplantation.