Who is willing to donate their bodies in China? Perceptions, attitudes and influencing factors among citizens of Changsha

Abstract

Body donation has far-reaching significance for modern medical research and education. However, body donation in China lags far behind the demand. To assess the perception and attitude toward body donation, a survey of 2535 community residents was conducted in Changsha. The result showed that 89.5% of the respondents have heard about body donation through different sources, such as public media, medical college, and hospital. However, 61.8% of the respondents have limited knowledge of these body donation programs. The majority of respondents believed that body donation would contribute to researches in neuroanatomy, tumor biology, and ophthalmology, as well as anatomical education for medical students, and surgical training for clinicians/surgeons. Regarding the public's willingness to donate, 27.5% of respondents expressed a clear willingness. Further analysis revealed that people aged above 60 are less willing to donate. Compared with people having Confucianism funeral belief, those without the belief were 9.8 times more willing to donate. Furthermore, it was shown that respondents who had a good understanding of body donation were more willing to donate their bodies. Moreover, people thought body donation was beneficial to medical research and education were almost 10 times more willing to donate compared to those who thought it had no benefit. To promote body donation in China, greater efforts need to be made in promoting body donor programs and so increasing the public's perception toward body donation. Moreover, re-assessing and re-interpreting Confucianism beliefs regarding body donation also needs to be considered for future promotion of body donation in China and other East Asian countries.

Keywords: Anatomy; Body donation; Cadaver; China; Confucianism.