A STUDY OF THE AWARENESS AND WILLINGNESS AMONG LECTURERS AND

STUDENTS IN IPBA TOWARDS ORGAN DONATION

by

Preena Nair Unnikrishnan

Goh Mun Ting
Denish Sevakumaran

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to determine if lecturers and students in IPBA are aware of organ
donation and whether or not they are willing to donate their organs. Specifically, the study aimed
to determine if there was any relationship between their level of awareness and their level of
willingness towards organ donation. Additionally, the study sought to determine if there were any
significant gender differences. The study also sought to determine the percentage of IPBA
lecturers and students who are registered as organ donors. The sample for this study consisted
of 54 males and 58 females who were randomly selected from the whole IPBA population. For
this study, data were collected using a survey questionnaire adapted from a previous study and
an interview schedule. The study found that IPBA lecturers and students generally are highly
aware of organ donation, but are only moderately willing to donate their organs. However, there
was a significant correlation between the level of awareness and the level of willingness towards
organ donation. The study also found significant gender difference in their level of awareness, but
not in their level of willingness. Only 4.46 percent of the respondents are registered as organ
donors.

INTRODUCTION

Organ donation and transplant involves the replacement of diseased and defective organs as
well as tissues with healthy ones from donors. This treatment is a way to help save lives of
people. Organ and tissue donation is the ultimate humanitarian act of charity. There are no age
limits on who can donate. Newborns as well as senior citizens can be organ donors.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Organ donation awareness is lacking among Malaysians. It is claimed that many people have
the wrong perception about organ donation and they believe it is against their religion. Many
religious experts such as Dr Abu Bakar Abdul Majeed (Senior Fellow Malaysian Institute of
Islamic Understanding), the late Venerable Dr. K. Sri Dhammananda Nayake Maha Thera
(Chief Buddhist High Priest of Malaysia and Singapore) and R. Letchumanan (Propagation
Officer of Malaysian Hindu Sangam) have emerged to clear the air about organ donation. They
have also stressed that organ donation is a noble act and is encouraged by all faiths.

According to a recent survey by Donate Life America, 18 patients die every day while waiting for
suitable organs. In Malaysia, many medical institutes face difficulties in getting organ donors to
help save lives. As organ donation is crucial to help save lives, it is important to determine the
levels of awareness and willingness of Malaysian educators, and notably future educators

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towards organ donation. It would also be beneficial to determine the factors that influence their
levels of awareness and willingness towards organ donation. For this purpose, a study related
to the issue of organ donation was conducted on lecturers and students of various courses
(hereafter in this article referred to as “IPBArians”) in the Institut Perguruan Bahasa-bahasa
Antarabangsa (IPBA).

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The study aims to answer the following questions:

1) What are the levels of awareness and willingness among IPBArians towards organ
donation?

2) Is there a relationship between the level of awareness of organ donation and the level of
willingness to donate organs among IPBArians?

3) What percentage of IPBArians are organ donors?

4) Is the level of awareness and willingness to donate organs among IPBArians related to
gender?

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The study aims to find out the level of awareness and willingness of IPBArians towards organ
donation. Based on the findings from the study, IPBA administrators can determine if there is a
need to further instill awareness and willingness towards organ donation among IPBArians. As
future educators, we are given the opportunity to channel our ideas and thoughts to the future
generation. Thus, we ought to have this awareness and the responsibility to educate the
Malaysian society about the importance of organ donation.

LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

This study is limited to only 112 respondents, who are lecturers and students of IPBA.
Therefore, the findings may not be generalized to the entire population in IPBA or to all other
teacher training institutes in Malaysia.

DEFINITION OF TERMS

Conceptual Definition

Awareness: Implies knowledge gained through one's own perceptions or by means of

information.
Awareness towards organ donation in this study refers to the ability to have an in-depth
knowledge which will educate one on organ donation and at the same time, clear the
misconceptions regarding the issue.

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Willingness: Acting or done willingly and without constraint or expectation of reward.
In the context of this study, willingness towards donating organs will be a situation when one
agrees to donate his / her organs after death without being forced to, or expecting something in
return.

Operational Definition

Level of awareness

Five items from the questionnaire, which are item numbers 10, 11, 16, 22, and 24, were
analyzed to gauge the level of awareness towards organ donation. For every ‘yes’ or positive
response to the indicated items, a score of ‘1’ was awarded; however, for every negative
response or uncertainty, a score of ‘0’ was given. The scores of all the items were then summed
with a maximum total score of 5. The overall mean was then calculated to determine the level of
awareness towards organ donation using the criteria in Table 1. As can be seen in the table, a
mean range of 0.00 – 1.99 shows a low level of awareness and a mean range of 4.00 – 5.00
suggests a high level of awareness.

Table 1: Criteria to determine the level of awareness towards organ donation

Mean Range Awareness level

0.00 – 1.99 Low
2.00 – 3.99 Moderate
4.00 – 5.00 High

Level of willingness

Four items from the questionnaire, which are item numbers 9, 12, 20, and 21, were analyzed to
determine the level of willingness towards organ donation. For every positive response to the
indicated items, a score of ‘1’ was awarded while a score of ‘0’ was given to every negative
response or uncertainty. Later, the scores for all the items were summed, with a maximum total
score of 4. The overall mean was then calculated to determine the level of willingness towards
organ donation using the criteria in Table 2. As can be seen from Table 2, a mean range of 0.00
– 1.59 indicates a low level of willingness while a mean range of 3.20 – 4.00 indicates a high
level of willingness.

Table 2: Criteria to determine the level of willingness towards organ donation

Mean Range Willingness Level

0.00 – 1.59 Low
1.60 – 3.19 Moderate
3.20 – 4.00 High

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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Sample

160 respondents were randomly selected from the whole population of IPBA. There were equal
numbers of males and females. The sample comprised students from various programmes and
lecturers from various departments. However, only 112 people responded to the survey
questionnaire. Table 3 shows the demographic details of the respondents.

Table 3: Demographic details of respondents

Gender Frequency (Percentage)

Male 54 (48.2%)
Female 58 (51.8%)

Instrument

In order to collect the data for this study, a survey questionnaire was developed. The instrument
used in a previous study (Socio-personal Profile of Teenagers who are Opposed to Organ
Donation, 2002) was adapted and modified.

Initially, the questionnaire consisted of 30 items. However, after consultation with two lecturers
from the Numerical Literacy team, we decided to trim down the number of items to 25 items to
ensure the relevance of the questionnaire with respect to the research questions of this study.
These 25 items were then modified so that it would be easier for the respondents to
comprehend them.

A pilot study was carried out on 3 lecturers and students. They were asked to comment on the
clarity of the items and to highlight any items that might be confusing and ambiguous. Based on
the feedback obtained, 5 items were re-modified due to grammatical errors and complexity in
the sentence structures. The internal consistency of the survey questionnaire was 0.62.

Data Collection Procedures

After the questionnaires were validated by two Numerical Literacy lecturers, they were
administered to the sample. Respondents were given verbal instructions as well as written
instructions on the survey questionnaire to ensure that the questionnaire was responded to
correctly.

However, only 112 respondents returned completed questionnaires. The responses to the
questionnaire were then analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS).
Based on the analysis, interviews were carried out to elicit further information and to seek
answers to findings from the questionnaire.

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DATA ANALYSIS

The Level of Awareness among IPBArians towards Organ Donation

Table 4 and Figure 1 show the level of awareness among IPBArians towards organ donation.
As a whole, the majority of the respondents (65.2 %) have a high level of awareness on organ
donation, while one-third (33.0 %) have a moderate level of awareness. Only 1.8% of the
respondents have a low level of awareness. Therefore, on the whole, IPBArians are highly
aware of organ donation. This indicates that a majority of them are perhaps quite well-versed on
the issue of organ donation.

Table 4: The level of awareness on organ donation among IPBArians

Awareness Level Range of scores Frequency (Percentage)

Low 0.00 – 1.99 2 (1.78 %)
Moderate 2.00 – 3.99 37 (33.04%)
High 4.00 – 5.00 73 (65.18%)
Total 112 (100.0%)

Figure 1: The level of awareness on organ donation among IPBArians

70 65.18

60
Percentage (%)

50
40 33.04
30
20
10
1.78
0
Low Moderate High

Level of Awareness

Table 5 and Figure 2 show the level of awareness towards organ donation according to gender.
As can be seen from the table and figure, 35.2% and 31.0% of the male and female
respondents respectively were moderately aware of organ donation. A higher percentage of the
female respondents (69%) showed a high level of awareness on organ donation compared to
male respondents (61%). Apart from that, no female respondents were reported to have a low
level of awareness.

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 Table 5: The level of awareness towards organ donation according to gender

Awareness Level Frequency (Percentage)

Male Female
Low 2 (3.70%) 0 (0.00%)
Moderate 19 (35.19%) 18 (31.03%)
High 33 (61.11%) 40 (68.97%)
Total 54 (100%) 58 (100.0%)

Figure 2: The level of awareness towards organ donation according to gender

80 68.97
Percentage (%)

70 61.11
60
50
40 35.19
31.03
30
20
10 3.70 0.00
0
Male Female

Low Moderate High

The mean and standard deviation for the level of awareness for both male and female
respondents are shown in Table 6. As can be seen from the table, female respondents (3.95)
had a higher mean level of awareness than male respondents (3.56). A t-test analysis on the
means showed that the difference was significant, t (110) = - 2.09, SE = 0. 19, p = 0.04.

Table 6: Comparison between male and female IPBArians with respect to their
awareness towards organ donation

Awareness Level Gender

Male Female
Mean 3.56 3.95
Standard deviation 1.09 0.89

The results indicate that both male and female IPBArians differ in terms of their level of
awareness towards organ donation. Female respondents have a higher level of awareness
regarding this matter compared to male respondents. This finding is consistent with a past study

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conducted by Yon (2001). She explained that women have a higher level of awareness towards
organ donation compared to men because women tend to have a sensitive and caring nature.

The Level of Willingness among IPBArians to Donate Organs

Table 7 and Figure 3 show the level of willingness among IPBArians towards being an organ
donor. As can be seen from the table below, 57.1% showed a moderate level of willingness to
be an organ donor, while 24.1% of them have a high level of willingness to donate their organs.
Lastly, about a fifth (18.8%) was reported to have a low level of willingness towards being an
organ donor. Generally, the results suggest that although about one in five IPBArians were less
willing to donate their organs, the majority of IPBArians were not against donating their organs.
This may be because of their generally high level of awareness towards organ donation and the
many benefits that can accrue from it.

Table 7: The level of willingness among IPBArians to donate organs

Willingness Level Range of Scores Frequency

(Percentage)
Low 0.00 – 1.59 21 (18.75%)
Moderate 1.60 – 3.19 64 (57.12%)
High 3.20 – 4.00 27 (24.10%)
Total 112 (100.0%)

Figure 3: The level of willingness among IPBArians to donate organs

57.12
60
Percentage (%)

50
40
30 24.10
18.75
20
10
0
Low Moderate High
Level of Willingness

Table 8 and Figure 4 show the level of willingness to donate organs according to gender. As
displayed in the table and figure below, 64.8% and 50.0% of the male and female respondents
respectively were moderately willing to be organ donors. A higher percentage of female
respondents (25.9%) showed a high level of willingness to become an organ donor than male
respondents (22.2%). On the other hand, more female respondents (24.1%) were reported to
have a low level of willingness compared to the male respondents (13.0%).

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 Table 8: The level of willingness to donate organ according to gender

Willingness Level Frequency

Male Female
Low 7 (13.00%) 14 (24.14%)
Moderate 35 (64.81%) 29 (50.00%)
High 12 (22.22%) 15 (25.86%)
Total 54 58

Figure 4: Level of willingness to donate organs according to gender

70 64.81
60
Percentage (%)

50.00
50
40
30 24.14 25.86
22.22
20 12.96
10
0
Male Female

Low Moderate High

The mean and standard deviation for the level of willingness for both male and female
respondents are shown in Table 9. As can be seen from the table, male respondents (2.72) had
a higher mean level of willingness than female respondents (2.55). A t-test analysis on the
means indicated that the difference was not significant, t (110) = 0.83, SE = 0.21, p = 0.41. This
shows that gender is not a factor that influences the level of willingness among IPBArians
towards becoming an organ donor.

Table 9: Comparison between male and female IPBArians with respect to their
willingness to donate organ

Level of Willingness Gender

Male Female
Mean 2.72 2.55
Standard deviation 0.10 1.16

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Thus, these results show that male and female respondents do not differ in their level of
willingness to become organ donors. However, these findings are not consistent with that of the
National Transplant Centre’s claim that women are more willing to donate their organs
compared to men. One reason given for this inconsistency, as obtained from the interview with
the officer from the National Transplant Centre, is that perhaps, IPBArians, generally lecturers
and future educators, are willing to donate their organs regardless of their gender because they
are well-exposed to the importance of organ donation in helping those in need due to their
intellectual background and caring nature as ‘teachers’.

The Relationship between the Level of Awareness on Organ Donation and the Level of
Willingness to Donate Organs among IPBArians

Table 10 shows the relationship between the level of awareness of organ donation and the level
of willingness to donate organ. Based on the table, the overall mean (3.76) of the level of
awareness towards organ donation among IPBArians is much higher compared to the overall
mean (2.63) for the level of willingness to donate organs. Based on the criteria in Table 1 and
Table 2, we can conclude that generally, IPBArians are moderately aware of organ donation
and moderately willing to donate their organs. These results are consistent with those in the
previous sections.

Table 10: The relationship between the level of awareness on organ donation and the
level of willingness to donate organs among IPBArians

Relationship of Aspects Overall Mean Standard Deviation

Awareness on Organ Donation 3.76 1.01

Willingness to Donate Organ 2.63 1.08

Co-relational analyses showed that the level of awareness of organ donation and the level of
willingness to donate organs among IPBArians are significantly correlated (r = 0.22, p= 0.02).
The results indicate that the level of awareness of organ donation is related to the level of
willingness to donate organs. If a respondent has a high level of awareness towards organ
donation, there is a high possibility that he or she will be more willing to donate organs.

The findings above are consistent with the past study conducted by Yon (2001). She found that
when a person is aware and is well informed with correct facts without any influence of false
beliefs or myths about organ donation, he or she is more willing to donate his or her organs to
help others. This finding is supported by Ajzen and Fishben’s (1980) theory which state that a
person’s attitude and actions are influenced by his beliefs and knowledge.

IPBArians that are Registered as Organ Donors

Table 11 and Figure 5 show the number of registered organ donors among IPBArians. Only
4.46% from the 112 respondents, consisting of 1 male and 4 females, are registered organ
donors. The rest of the respondents (95.5%) are not.

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 Table 11: Number of registered organ donors among IPBArians

Gender Registered Organ Donor Total

Yes No
Male 1 (1.85%) 53 (98.15%) 54 (100%)
Female 4 (6.90%) 54 (93.10%) 58 (100%)
Total 5 (4.46%) 107(95.54%) 112 (100%)

Figure 5: Number of registered organ donors among IPBArians

4%

Registered

Not Registered

96%

The results indicate that although as a whole, IPBArians are moderately aware of organ
donation and its importance as well as moderately willing to donate their organs, yet,
surprisingly, a majority of them (95.5%) are not registered as organ donors. The two most
popular reasons given during the interviews with some of the respondents were that the
respondents did not know how and where to register as an organ donor and secondly most of
them had not discussed this matter with their family members.

CONCLUSION

From the data obtained through this study, it can be concluded that generally IPBArians have a
high level of awareness about organ donation. However, there is a significant difference in the
level of awareness between male and female respondents. Females tend to be more aware of
organ donation than males. As for the level of willingness to donate organs, the majority of
IPBArians were found to be moderately willing to donate their organs. The results also show
that gender does not play a role in influencing the level of willingness among IPBArians for
donating their organs. The level of awareness on organ donation and the level of willingness to
donate organ were found to be significantly correlated to each other. Put in another way, it
means a respondent has a high level of awareness, there is a high tendency that he or she will
be willing to donate his or her organs.

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IMPLICATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Since this was the first time such a study has been conducted in IPBA, we hope that the
findings would give an insight to all IPBArians regarding their level of awareness on organ
donation as well as their level of willingness to donate organs. We also hope that some
measures can be taken by the administration to increase the level of awareness and willingness
to donate organs. In this direction, perhaps invitations can be sent out to hospitals and private
organizations to hold campaigns or to give talks to IPBArians on issues related to organ
donation.

However, this study was based only on a small sample. In the future, a larger sample size could
be used so as to obtain more reliable and accurate findings. Further research in this area could
also investigate how and why being a blood donor affects the level of awareness and
willingness towards organ donation.

REFERENCES

Ajzen & Fishben. (1980). Theory of reasoned action. Retrieved March 28, 2007, from
http://www.etr.org/recapp/theories/tra/

Socio-personal profile of teenagers who are opposed to organ donation. (2002). Retrieved
March 28, 2007, from www.ndt.oxfordjournals.org

Yon, S. S. (2001). The level of awareness and perspectives of society towards organ donation.
Unpublished master’s thesis, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

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