Knowledge, Religious Beliefs and Perception towards Organ Donation from Death Row Prisoners from
the Perspective of Patients and Non-Patients in Malaysia: A Preliminary Study
Abstract
There are not many organ donors in Malaysia compared to other countries. According to several studies
conducted, Malaysia is one of the lowest countries in term of organ donation rate although there are
abundant of patients listed for organ transplants. Many reasons being made to why there are shortages of
organ donors in Malaysia such as the lack of knowledge about organ donation, and the barrier from
religious perspectives. The objectives of this study are to find out Malaysians’ basic knowledge on organ
donation and their religious perspectives on organ donation. The study also explores the Malaysians’
perceptions in accepting organs donated by death row prisoners, should they find out on the matter.
Questionnaires were created to collect data from respondents through convenient sampling of 213
samples. The results obtained showed that many Malaysians are aware of the shortage of organ donors in
Malaysia, but most of them are not. Some of them also stated that, they would still donate their organs
even if their religious believes oppose organ donations. Conversely, the study found out positive
feedbacks from many Malaysians upon organ donation from death row prisoners.