TABLE 2.

Representative excerpts by theme.

1: Awareness and perceptions of VCA
1.1: Initial Perceptions of VCA	“It’s like the way things look has so much more of an impact on people even though people do not always say it does it does. And so I think that’s why there’s like this weird … it’s just like a little awkward because I do not even know if I could -- it would be just as weird to imagine your hand on someone else’s or like your face on someone else’s.” [Site 1, FG 2, Woman C]
1.2: Perceptions of VCA in Relation to Other Solid Organ Transplantation	“What would pop in my head if somebody told me that they had a [VCA] transplant? I do not know, I guess I would just look at them and say, ‘It looks good.’ Or maybe, ‘They messed you up.’” [Site 2, FG 2, Man A]
	“Is [VCA] important? I mean, I can see an internal organ. I mean, you’ll die. But if you live with one hand, you will not potentially die, and that’s what we’re hoping for, that nobody dies.” [Site 1, FG 1, Man A]
	“You can live without a uterus and you can live without a penis. So what’s the medical reason for somebody to have to get somebody else’s uterus or penis other than them wanting it? Is that what you were saying? … What’s the purpose of giving it to somebody?” [Site 2, FG 3, Woman A]
1.3: Questions about VCA	A comprehensive list of participant questions can be found in Table 3
2: VCA Donation
2.1: Reasons to Donate VCA Organs	“I personally do not have any negative emotions toward [VCA] at all … It is [a] positive thing because I think it’s cool after you die, where you have one last thing to help however many people … and you can help that many people regardless of whether its extending life or just improving quality of life. Like that would be important to me, and I think that would be important to my family too.” [Site 1, FG 1, Woman C]
	“I’d probably just do it for the name of science. Just for the future, not necessary to save people, but just in the name of science, so they can further study and perfect it on how to do this with people in the future.” [Site 1, FG 3, Man A]
2.2: Willingness to Donate Hands and Face	“If I was a donor, I would donate my hand no problem, but not my face. Because that would be weird for my children. You know, they’re going to want to have a little funeral for me and even though I will not be here any longer, I just think that’s weird. The thing [s] that you gotta think [about face donation], and I will not donate. I do not care if I were getting cremated, I will not do it.” [Site 1, FG 2, Woman A]
	“I think I would be more okay with an organ than with a hand. I do not know, it does not matter but it just feels weird … But now, when I think hand or face, I feel different than internal organ. And I think it’s emotional … [Site 2, FG 1, Woman D]
2.3: Willingness to Donate Penis and Uterus	“Like, if I died, I would not want nobody getting my uterus … If it was just that they just wanted to have some children I do not agree with that.” [Site 2, FG 3, Woman A]
	“What if somebody comes in and just be like, ‘I want a sex change?‘… Because I feel as though, like myself, if I’m donating my body to help somebody, I do not want it to go to somebody that just wants their chemicals changed.” [Site 2, FG 2, Man D]
2.4: VCA Authorization	“And that person’s family, it do not matter if it resonate. If that person says what they want to do, it should be done.” [Site 1, FG 1, Male B]
	“I think that’s [VCA authorization] pointless because, if you already signed up for it when you were alive, and then somebody got to reauthorize it for when you dead or you’re about to die, … then it would be an issue.” [Site 2, FG 3, Female A]
	“Female F: They want it right away. They kept calling about my mother when she passed, like they want it right then and then. Like its no, you cannot … they cannot grieve
	Female D: Grieve
	Female F: They cannot wait that long. It has to be right away. So you have to make your mind up immediately
	Female D: That’s why she was saying, they all have to do that before they pass. You know, then it’s their decisions, your loved ones.” [Site 1, FG 3, Females D and F]
	“I think I would have to tell them, ‘When I go, you might see somebody that might look like me, might get my face, might get my hand, they might touch you and feel my --… I think that would be right, something that you can discuss with your family and your loved ones. It’s still your hand, your face, that’s a part of you, so if I’ve been around you for 70 years then I’m going to know your hands, I’m going to know your face. If I had to give this to somebody else to live, I would want somebody to expect that it might come up they might visualize me when I’m gone and they … they may have a trauma.” [Site 2, FG 1, Male A]
3: Barriers to Donate
3.1: Religious and Cultural Beliefs	“Yeah. I see some difficulties when it comes to religion. And donating and different things because families have difficulties even dealing with whether their loved one want to be cremated or not or go the traditional route. That’s based on some religious beliefs. And, yeah, if religion is going to play a big part in whether the family or if the donor has not specified what they want to do other than being an organ donor, that will play a big part in whether families are willing to do that.” [Site 2, FG 3, Male 1]
3.2: Fear of Death	“Ok, well I think there’s going to be people rational or irrational that are going to have fears about well what’s really going to happen to my body parts? there’s just a lot of fear out there that is maybe unfounded that still rattles around and keeps people from donating.” [Site 1, FG 1, Female A]
3.3: Need to Improve Public Awareness of VCA	“Information is key, you know, every community if they’re not properly informed, their mind’s going to run wild with the idea of what could happen, what could be, so that’s what I think it comes down to is properly educating people.” [Site 2, FG 1, Man B]
	“I think the biggest issue is a lack of education, and a lack of awareness. And that people do not know that much about it. If they just knew just as much about [VCA] as they did about a heart transplant.” [Site 1, FG 2, Woman C]
3.4: Suggestions to Increase VCA Awareness	“The important information -- my opinion is it should be about saving lives … It should be mainly about the quality of their life and how donating these different parts of the body would or could affect someone else’s quality of life. They could live a little better or a little longer. I think that that should be stated a lot that would help [Site 1, FG 3, Man A]
	“Write about real life experiences. People that have gone through the process, received a hand or hands and face and how their life was improved.” [Site 2, FG 1, Man A]