Cognitive obstacles against organ donation : the influence of negative attitudes, norms, and traditional beliefs on Chinese people's intention to donate organs after death

In China, the organ supply is severely insufficient to cover all people on the waiting list for donated organs, and numerous patients die awaiting transplant. To achieve a better understanding of cadaveric organ donation in Chinese culture, this study examined 300 Chinese adults, in both Fujian Province and Macao, regarding attitudes towards organ donation, subjective norms about organ donation and traditional beliefs about the body and death, examining the influences of these factors on respondents' donation intentions. Multiple hierarchical regression results suggest that more negative attitudes, unfavourable norms and traditional beliefs lead to lower donation intentions.