Abstract

Author:
Pablo Pérez Castro, Sofia Salas, Delia Muñoz, Fernando Alvarado, Ryan Kennedy

Doi: 10.26480/jhcdc.02.2023.97.101

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License CC BY 4.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited

Organ transplantation presents a promising opportunity to enhance quality of life and extend life expectancy in patients with end-stage chronic organ failure. Although the societal benefits of transplantation are clear, the shortage of organs donated in Latin America poses a significant barrier to accessing this life-saving treatment, resulting in high waitlist mortality rates and prolonged time on the waitlist. To address the problem of organ donation hesitancy, we thoroughly analyzed the behavioral factors by applying concepts from the Socioecological Model, the PRECEDE/PROCEDE framework, and Health Behavior Theories. We identified various personal, interpersonal, and community factors that may explain low donation rates and hinder the effectiveness of current strategies, highlighting the lack of information, the spread of myths about donation, the emotional burden for families, and the lack of sufficient human and technical resources. We propose a 10-step evidence-based intervention recommendation that involves focusing on increasing donation rates in the population, improving knowledge about donation and its process, preparing health professionals, developing strategies to promote donation with a focus on the young adult population, implementing specialized teams in transplants and the massification of preservation technologies. In summary, developing countries or countries with low organ donation rates must design evidence-based public policies. This article provides readily accessible information for the public, decision makers and relevant stakeholders.