When receiving advice from a physician, one might wonder what the doctor would choose for him- or herself. Recently we discussed here a study on doctors' preferences for their own end-of-life care. Now, a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association has reported on physicians' views and behavior surrounding their own organ donation.
As a news@JAMA piece reports on the Canadian study, physicians are nearly 50 percent more likely than non-physicians to register as an organ donor. More from the piece:
Despite waiting lists for organs in many countries, the percentage of individuals registered in national organ donation registries in most countries is below 40%. The United States fares a bit better than average, with 48% of adults registered as organ donors.
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Concerns about organ donation have led to lower-than-average rates of registration in Ontario, Canada, where only about 25% of adults have registered. Currently, there are more than 1500 people on transplant waiting lists in Ontario.
Study author Alvin Ho-ting Li, BHSc, a PhD candidate at Western University in Ontario, Canada, discusses the study's purpose and findings further in a Q&A section of the piece.
Previously: More on doctors and end-of-life directives, Study: Doctors would choose less aggressive end-of-life care for themselves, Students launch Stanford Life Savers initiative to boost organ donation and Family ties: One sister saves another with live liver donation
