Willingness to communicate about organ donation among migrant workers in mainland China: a cross-sectional questionnaire survey

Objective Voluntary organ donation is the sole legitimate source of deceased transplantable organs in China. Migrant workers have been major donors. The aim of this study was to examine willingness to communicate about organ donation and identify its predictors among Chinese migrant workers. Methods A total of 660 Chinese migrant workers were recruited into the study. Data were collected by the Chinese version of Organ Donation Attitude Scale, Death Attitude Profile-Revised (DAP-R), Self-Report Altruism Scale (SRA), Willingness to Communicate Sale (WTCS), and a socio-demographic data sheet. Results A total of 688 eligible migrant workers was approached and 660 workers completed the study with the response rate of 95.9%. Migrant workers reported moderate level of willingness to communicate about organ donation. The best-fit regression analysis revealed five variables that explained 32.6% of the variance in willingness to communicate about organ donation. They were approval of organ donation, obstacle of organ donation, approach acceptance and death avoidance. Conclusion Migrant workers who had a stronger feeling about organ donation or death, and stronger altruism tendencies had a higher willingness to communicate about organ donation. Accordingly, the campaign strategy to promote family communication should enhance positive attitudes about donation, alleviate the fear of death and focus on the altruism element of donation behavior.