Registered bone marrow donors’ views on bodily donations

Abstract

The attitudes of 463 potential bone marrow donors toward blood donation, kidney donation in life, organ donation after death, autopsy, and donation of the whole body for anatomic dissection were surveyed, using a questionnaire that had previously been employed for assessing the attitudes of the public. The response rate was 96%. Three quarters of the respondents were blood donors and recruited via the blood center. The proportion that accepted the procedures varied between 24% for anatomic dissection and 97% for autopsy. Differences were small between individuals with positive attitudes and individuals who had also actively taken steps to activate these attitudes. Compared with the public, the bone marrow donors were more positive to all kinds of bodily donations. The conclusion is that if one is prepared to give from the body in life, one is also prepared to give after death. The results may indicate less death anxiety and fear of physical injury, and less fear of chaos either with or without altruism compared to the public.