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. 2011 Oct 11;11:791. doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-11-791

Table 2.

Beliefs Identified in the Reviewed Studies

Beliefs Study n

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
Religion
Religious opposition to organ donation + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + 23
 Need to maintain bodily integrity + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + 22
 Interferes with funeral or burial rituals + + + + + + + + + + + + 12
 Fatalism + + + + + + + + 8
 Haunt surviving family members + + 2
Religious support for organ donation + + + + + + + + + + 10
Uncertain of religion's position + + + + + + + + + + + + + 13
Death
Don't like to think/talk about death or organ donation + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + 17
Talking about death or organ donation tempts fate + + + + + + + + 8
Organ donation transforms the concept of death + + + + + + 6
Altruism
Organ donation helps those in need + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + 20
Organ donation helps the broader community + + + + + + 6
Indirect reciprocity + + + + + 5
Social/cultural isolation + + + 3
Personal relevance
Don't consider donation until its personally relevant + + + + + + + + + 9
Beliefs change as donation becomes personally relevant + + + + + + + + 8
The body
Organ donation dehumanizes the body + + + + + + + + + + + + + 13
Ownership over body + + + + + + + 7
Some organs have special significance + + + + + + + + 8
Personality contamination + + + + + + 6
Utilitarian view of the body + + + + + + + + + + 10
 Body holds little intrinsic importance after death + + + + + + + 7
 Wasteful not to donate + + + 3
 Body is a 'machine' + + + + + 5
The family
Family attitude towards donation + + + + + + + + + + + + 12
Minimize family stress + + + + + + + 7
The medical profession
Organs obtained unethically + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + 18
 Organs removed before death + + + + + + + + + 9
 Life-saving medical care withheld + + + + + + + + + + + + + 13
 Exceed terms of consent + + + + + 5
Doctors make mistakes + + + + + + + + 8
 Brain death + + + + + + + 7
 Routine medical errors + + 2
Life needlessly prolonged to obtain organs + + 2
Doctors push boundaries of nature + + + + 4
Unethical or prejudicial organ allocation + + + + + + + + + + 10
Organs used for unintended purposes + + + + + + + 7
 Illicit trading + + + + + + 6
 Unauthorized experiments + 1
Health system constraints + + + + 4
Unaware of registration process + + + + + 5
Perceived lack of donation knowledge + + + + + + + + + + 10
The transplant recipients
Donated organ may be defective + + + + + + + + + + 10
Recipients 'waiting' for someone to die + 1
Organ allocation should be restricted to: + + + + + + + + + + + + 12
 Specific populations + + + + + 5
 'Deserving' recipients + + + + 4
 Family or friends + + + + + + + + + 9

Numbers correspond to the studies summarized in Table 1.