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Impact of Community Organ Donation Registration Drives on Organ Donor Registration among Adults in Nigeria

Abstract

Organ donation is an important component of modern healthcare and provides opportunities for life-saving transplantation among patients with end-stage organ failure and other serious medical conditions. Despite the potential benefits of organ transplantation, low levels of organ donor registration may limit the availability of suitable organs for transplantation. In Nigeria, limited public awareness, misconceptions about organ donation, religious and cultural concerns, fear of exploitation, mistrust of healthcare institutions, uncertainty about the donation process, and inadequate opportunities for donor registration may discourage adults from registering as organ donors. Community organ donation registration drives provide an opportunity to take donor education and registration services closer to the population while addressing misconceptions and providing clear information about the ethical, medical, and legal aspects of organ donation. Against this background, this study investigates the impact of community organ donation registration drives on organ donor registration among adults in Nigeria. The study will be anchored on the Health Belief Model, Theory of Planned Behavior, and Social Ecological Model. The Health Belief Model explains how adults' perceptions of susceptibility, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, perceived severity, and cues to action may influence their willingness to register as organ donors. The Theory of Planned Behavior explains how attitudes toward organ donation, perceived social expectations, and perceived behavioural control may influence adults' intentions and actual decisions to register. The Social Ecological Model emphasizes the influence of individual, interpersonal, community, healthcare, cultural, and broader societal factors on organ donation decisions and access to registration opportunities. Collectively, these theoretical perspectives provide a suitable framework for explaining how community organ donation registration drives may influence organ donor registration among adults in Nigeria. The study will adopt a quantitative quasi-experimental or analytical cross-sectional research design. The study population will comprise adults aged 18 years and above residing in selected urban, semi-urban, and rural communities across Nigeria who meet applicable organ donor registration requirements. A multistage sampling technique will be used to select geopolitical zones, states, local government areas, communities, households, religious or community organizations, and eligible participants. Community organ donation registration drives will be assessed using indicators such as frequency of registration activities, campaign reach, availability of registration points, duration of registration drives, exposure to organ donation education, availability of trained personnel, accessibility of registration services, registration materials, use of mobile or digital registration platforms, and opportunities for participants to ask questions before registration. Organ donor registration will be assessed using indicators such as completion of donor registration, possession or confirmation of donor registration status where applicable, willingness to register, intention to remain registered, discussion of donation decisions with family members, knowledge of donor preferences, and participation in community registration activities. Data will be collected using structured questionnaires, organ donation knowledge and attitude assessment tools, donor registration records where available, registration-drive attendance records, digital registration records where appropriately authorized, and relevant programme documents. Descriptive statistics will be used to summarize participants' characteristics, exposure to registration drives, organ donation knowledge, attitudes, and registration outcomes. Inferential statistical techniques, including chi-square tests, t-tests, correlation analysis, and logistic or multiple regression analysis where appropriate, will be used to determine the impact of community organ donation registration drives on organ donor registration. Where a quasi-experimental design is adopted, registration rates before and after implementation of community registration drives may be compared with those of a comparison community or group to determine changes associated with the intervention. Diagnostic tests will also be conducted to assess the reliability, validity, and robustness of the findings. The study is expected to find that community organ donation registration drives have a significant positive impact on organ donor registration among adults in Nigeria. Adults exposed to accessible and well-organized registration drives are expected to demonstrate greater willingness and higher rates of actual organ donor registration than adults without comparable exposure. Community-based registration may reduce practical barriers by bringing information and registration opportunities closer to residents. Educational components may also help clarify the organ donation process, address misconceptions, explain the ethical safeguards surrounding donation, and reduce fears concerning inappropriate use of donated organs. Involving trusted healthcare professionals, community leaders, and other credible communicators may further improve confidence in the registration process. However, cultural and religious beliefs, misinformation, fear of death or medical exploitation, mistrust of healthcare institutions, concerns about family disagreement, limited knowledge of transplantation, inadequate registration infrastructure, and uncertainty about the legal and ethical framework may reduce participation. The study therefore expects credible, culturally sensitive, transparent, and accessible community organ donation registration drives to contribute significantly to improved organ donor registration among adults in Nigeria. The study is expected to contribute to the literature on organ donation, donor registration, transplantation, health education, community mobilization, health promotion, medical ethics, health communication, and public health in Nigeria. The findings will provide useful information to the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, National Blood Service Agency and relevant transplantation authorities, hospitals, transplant centres, healthcare professionals, community organizations, religious organizations, civil society groups, development partners, and policymakers regarding strategies for strengthening organ donation programmes. The study will also provide evidence-based recommendations for expanding community-based donor registration opportunities, improving public education on organ donation, addressing cultural and religious misconceptions, strengthening transparency and public trust, developing accessible digital and community registration systems, engaging healthcare professionals and community leaders, and establishing effective donor-registration follow-up and family communication strategies to improve organ donor registration across Nigeria.

Keywords: Community organ donation, organ donor registration, donor registration drives, organ transplantation, health education, community mobilization, health communication, public health, adults, Nigeria.