BERLIN,June 2 (Xinhua) -- The percentage of citizens who hold a positive attitude towards organ and tissue donation has reached a record high of 84 percent in Germany, according to a survey result published by the Federal Center for Health Education (BZgA) on the country's Organ Donation Day on Saturday.
The nationwide representative survey "Attitude, knowledge and behavior of the general population on the organ and tissue donation 2018" of the BZgA was conducted from November 2017 to February 2018 among 4,001 citizens aged 14 to 75.
Heidrun Thaiss, head of the BZgA, said, "The growing positive attitude of the population to organ and tissue donation is a pleasing development and proves that many people deal with the issue. "
According to the survey, of the 2,454 respondents who had made their decisions on whether or not to donate organs, 72 percent agreed to donate organs and tissues after death, 14 percent disagreed, while the rest did not give a clear-cut choice.
When asked about the motives for agreeing to donate organ and tissue donor organs, 73 percent said they wanted to help other people. Whereas 22 percent of those who refused to donate identified the fear of abuse or lack of trust due to negative reporting as the reason for their reluctance to be a donor.
Ensuing an organ donation scandal in 2010 and 2011, in which abuses of transplant centers were reported, the readiness in the German population declined.
The day of organ donation takes place every year in a different German federal state; This year it was hosted in Saarbrucken in the state of Saarland on June 2 with many awareness boosting initiatives and information sessions.
Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn said more than 10,000 people are on the waiting list for an organ in Germany.
