Participating in Organ Donation: Issues Among Black South Africans

The medical transplantation of human body organs remains the only efficacious therapy for patients who are confronted with the reality of death due to the breakdown of their vital body organs such as the heart, lungs, kidneys, pancreas, and liver. Nevertheless, their hopes of improving and prolonging their lives on earth are shattered by the consistent shortage and paucity of suitable organ donors. The scarcity of human organs is an issue of great concern in public health, both locally and internationally and the current outlook is bleak. This study seeks to explore factors that prevent black South Africans in Limpopo province from participating in organ donation. In a quest to explore factors that might impede black South Africans from participating in organ donation, a qualitative approach and explorative research design were used. Non-probability sampling was used to select 30 research participants. In-depths interviews were used to collect data and the data analysis method was a content analysis. The study was based on the theory of planned behaviour. The study established that the majority of black South Africans are not registered organ donors. A lack of awareness or educational, religious, and cultural backgrounds and myths regarding organ donation prevent black South Africans from registering and donating their organs. This study recommends further research into organ donation, and the development of a social work model to increase the awareness rate of organ donation in black communities. It calls for the evaluation of legislation that regulates organ donation and transplantation in South Africa.