Donation: Attitudes and Influence of Personality Traits

Introduction Human anatomy has been a fundamental key in medical education. However, the course has presented many important changes in its method of teaching it, throughout history. The study of anatomy has been mainly characterized by the use of the human body, currently made most available through body donation. The donation of body and organs to science after death brings with it different meanings for people, from the altruistic aspect to the development of medical sciences. Mexico is a country with culture generally low in body donation, although high among medical personnel and students. The objective of this study is to evaluate the perception of the general population towards donation and determine if there is a relationship between their view and the presence of personality disorders. Methods A cross‐sectional, prospective, descriptive study was designed in which a survey covering demographic data and attitudes towards body and organ donation was distributed. Likewise, the Salamanca questionnaire was used to assesses personality disorders. Adult volunteers were recruited from the general population to answer anonymously the questionnaires. Medical or health personnel were excluded. Results were evaluated by a psychiatrist Results A total of202 surveys were obtained, 76 (37.6%) men and 126 (62.4%) women; 83% catholic, 62.8% with a university‐level education. A total of 95.2% of women and 93.4% of men expressed being in favor of organ donation (p> 0.05), but only 40.3% and 37.8% respectively were in favor of body donation. However, this may be due to only 51.2% of women and 45.3% of men being familiar with the term “body donation.” Of those people in favor of organ donation, 68.1% had a probable personality disorder, and 65.4% of those in favor of cadaveric donation. Further analysis is still pending. Conclusions The creation of a donation program in northeastern Mexico is considered feasible due to the positive results found towards a donation. It is necessary to make information available to the population on this issue and its implications to achieve greater commitment. Correlation with personality disorders may play an influencing factor in a donation.