The relationship between motivation to volunteer, gender, cultural mistrust, and willingness to donate organs among Blacks.

The relationship between motivation to volunteer, gender, cultural mistrust, and the willingness of blacks to donate their organs, as well as the organs of relatives, was explored. Participants consisted of 107 black students attending a university located in the southwest. All participants were given the Volunteer Functions Inventory (VFI), Cultural Mistrust Inventory (CMI), Organ Donation Questionnaire (ODQ), and a background information questionnaire. It was found that individuals with low scores on the VFI and high scores on the CMI were less willing to consent to donating their organs. Also, females and individuals with high CMI scores were less willing to permit the recovery of organs from relatives. Some theoretical and applied implications for mental health professionals are suggested.