Knowledge & beliefs
1. The rich, famous, and/or well-connected can pay their way for higher priority on a transplant waiting list or “pull strings” to get a transplant faster.
2. A hospital’s transplant committee determines priority of patients on the waiting list at that hospital.
3. An organ is matched to a recipient through a national computerized system.
4. It is possible for a brain dead person to recover from his/her injuries.
5. Doctors work just as hard to save a patient who is an organ donor as one who is not.
6. I am concerned that patients may be identified as organ donors before they are declared dead.
7. Becoming an organ donor is one way to help others.
8. Helping others through organ donation is important to me.
9. Removing organs is disrespectful to the deceased. (REVERSE CODE)
10. It matters to me what would happen to my body after I am dead.
11. Organs can be bought and sold on the black market in the U.S.
12. It upsets me that there could be a black market for organs in the U.S.
13. Doctors might let me die if they know I am an organ donor. (REVERSE CODE)
14. It is too big of a risk to be an organ donor because I am concerned that doctors might let me die to get my organs.
15. It is not possible to have an open-casket funeral if you’ve donated organs. (REVERSE CODE)
16. It is important to me to be able to have an open-casket funeral when I die.
17. I am concerned that if I become an organ donor, my organs could go to someone who doesn’t deserve them (e.g., an alcoholic, prisoner, “bad person,” etc.)
18. I am worried that a deceased organ donor might still be able to feel pain when their organs are removed.
19. People who choose to donate a family member’s organs end up paying extra medical bills.
20. It worries me that some people who need organ transplants might get preferential treatment.
21. Doctors have personal pull in deciding which patient gets an organ transplant.
22. It is not right if doctors have personal pull in deciding which patients get transplants.
Attitude toward behavior (to be used with a 7-point scale)
I believe that signing up to become an organ donor after I die is…
- GoodàBad
- PositiveàNegative
- WorthlessàValuable (REVERSE CODE)
- DangerousàSafe (REVERSE CODE)
- AltruisticàSelfish
- BeneficialàHarmful
- PleasantàUnpleasant
- EasyàDifficult
Attitude toward others becoming organ donors
1. More people should sign up to become organ donors.
2. I would encourage others to sign up to become organ donors.
3. I would support other people if they decided to become organ donors.
4. I would support other people if they decided not to become organ donors.
Subjective norms
1. Most people who are important to me think that I should not sign up to be an organ donor. (REVERSE CODE)
2. It is probably expected of me that I sign up to be an organ donor.
3. A lot of people who are important to me believe signing up to be an organ donor is a good thing.
4. The people in my life whose opinions I value would not approve of me being an organ donor. (REVERSE CODE)
5. When it comes to decisions like being an organ donor, I am not concerned about doing what my family thinks I should do. (REVERSE CODE)
6. What my friends think I should do about organ donation does not concern me. (REVERSE CODE)
7. Overall, I do what people important to me think I should do.
Descriptive norms
1. Most people who are important to me have signed up to be organ donors.
2. The people in my life whose opinions I value are probably not signed up to be organ donors. (REVERSE CODE)
3. Many people like me are probably already signed up to be organ donors.
Intention
If you are not already signed up to be an organ donor, please answer the following questions:
1. I have considered the possibility of becoming an organ donor.
2. I have been meaning to sign an organ donor card.
3. I do not intend to sign an organ donor card.
4. At some time in the future, I plan to sign an organ donor card.
Medical Mistrust
1. I believe that doctors always try to act in their patients’ best interests.
2. Sometimes, medical procedures are done on people without their consent.
3. I don’t trust doctors.
4. I think that some people get better medical treatment than others.
5. Doctors can be trusted to do everything possible to save my life in the event of an emergency.
Fear of Death Scale
How disturbed or made anxious are you by the following aspects of death and dying? Read each item and answer it quickly. Don’t spend too much time thinking about your response. We want your first impression of how you think right now. Circle the number that best represents your feeling.
Your Own Death
1. the shortness of life
2. missing out on so much after you die
3. dying young
4. never thinking or experiencing anything again
5. the disintegration of your body after you die
Death of Others
1. never being able to communicate with them again
2. regret over not being nicer to them when they were alive
3. growing old alone without them
4. feeling guilty that you are relieved that they are dead
5. feeling lonely without them
Empathy
· I feel bad when I notice someone who doesn’t seem to have anyone to hang out with.
· I really like to watch people open presents, even when I don’t get a present myself.
· Even when I don’t know why someone is laughing, I laugh too.
· I usually feel upset when I have to tell someone bad news.
· The people around me have a lot of influence on my moods.
· Seeing people cry upsets me.
· I get very angry when I see someone being treated badly by others.
· I am generally not affected when people around me worry. (REVERSE)
· I am able to make decisions without worrying about whether other people will be upset. (REVERSE)
· I find it hard to feel OK if people around me are depressed.
· It is hard for me to understand how some things upset people so much. (REVERSE)
· I am very upset when I see someone in pain.
· I become more irritated than sympathetic when I see someone crying. (REVERSE)
· I often find that I can remain cool in spite of the excitement around me. (REVERSE)
Trait Transfer
1. I think it is possible for a donor to pass traits on to the person who receives their organs.
2. Transplant recipients are likely to pick up the likes and dislikes of their deceased donors.
3. A part of a donor’s soul or personality lives on in the person who gets their organs.
Perceived Benefits of Donation
1. Organ donors are heroic because they save lives.
2. Donating organs would allow part of me to live after I die.
3. Organ donation allows something positive to come out of a person’s death.
4. Organ donation helps to bring meaning to the death of a loved one.
Bodily Integrity
1. Removing organs from the body just isn’t right.
2. People’s bodies should be buried without removing organs so they will be able to rise from the dead or exist in the afterlife.
3. The body should be kept whole for burial.
4. Because the body, exactly as it is on earth, will be reunited with the spirit after death, organs should not be removed when someone dies.
Ick
1. The idea of organ donation is somewhat disgusting.
2. I wouldn’t like the idea of having another person’s organs inside of me, even if I needed a transplant.
3. The thought of organ donation makes me feel “weird” or uncomfortable.
Jinx
1. People who donate their organs risk displeasing God or Nature.
2. Making plans for my own death by signing an organ donor card might make death happen more quickly.
3. Organ donors might not be resurrected or exist in the afterlife because they don’t have all their “parts.”
4. Signing an organ donor card is just tempting fate.
Existential Anxiety
1. I often feel anxious because I am worried that life might have no meaning.
2. I never think about emptiness. (REVERSE CODE)
3. I often think that the things that were once important in life are empty.
4. I know that life has meaning. (REVERSE CODE)
Religiosity
1. My faith involves all of my life.
2. One should seek God’s guidance when making every important decision.
3. In my life I experience the presence of the Divine.
4. My faith sometimes restricts my actions.
5. Nothing is as important to me as serving God as best I know how.
6. I try hard to carry my religion over into all my other dealings in life.
7. My religions beliefs are what really lie behind my whole approach to life.
8. It doesn’t matter so much what I believe as long as I lead a moral life.
9. Although I am a religious person, I refuse to let religious considerations influence my everyday affairs.
10. Although I believe in my religion I feel there are many more important things in life.