OBJECTIVE: In Tunisia organ donation stays very low. This is in part due to family's opposition in brain death situation. We realized a survey on a representative group of the Tunis's population (2.8 millions citizens) in the aim to clarify, among persons refusing organ donation, the prevalence of refusals determiners to individualize actions. METHODS: This survey was made in the region of Tunis between March 2006 and February 2007. The 16 questions of the survey were classified in four subjects: organ donation knowledge, opinion and attitude of the citizen, explicit justification and statements advanced in case of organ's donation refusal. RESULTS: 80.7% of citizens sounded are informed with the possibility of organ transplant in Tunisia. Only 50% of persons agree to accept organ donation after dying. Among the group refusing organ donation after dying, the absence of an understandable argument is recorded in 55.3% of cases. The violation on body integrity after death as well as religious obstruction are at the head of list of statements advanced in case of organ's donation refusal with respectively 79,9% and 63.1%. CONCLUSION: Relation researched between bodies and spirituality and individualism are the two explanations of this phenomenon of refusal of organ donation in Tunisia. Copyright 2009 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.
OBJECTIVE: In Tunisia organ donation stays very low. This is in part due to family's opposition in brain death situation. We realized a survey on a representative group of the Tunis's population (2.8 millions citizens) in the aim to clarify, among persons refusing organ donation, the prevalence of refusals determiners to individualize actions. METHODS: This survey was made in the region of Tunis between March 2006 and February 2007. The 16 questions of the survey were classified in four subjects: organ donation knowledge, opinion and attitude of the citizen, explicit justification and statements advanced in case of organ's donation refusal. RESULTS: 80.7% of citizens sounded are informed with the possibility of organ transplant in Tunisia. Only 50% of persons agree to accept organ donation after dying. Among the group refusing organ donation after dying, the absence of an understandable argument is recorded in 55.3% of cases. The violation on body integrity after death as well as religious obstruction are at the head of list of statements advanced in case of organ's donation refusal with respectively 79,9% and 63.1%. CONCLUSION: Relation researched between bodies and spirituality and individualism are the two explanations of this phenomenon of refusal of organ donation in Tunisia. Copyright 2009 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.