Aim: To assess the impact of the film ‘Organ Donation and You’ on public attitudes towards organ donation, specifically within minority groups.
Method: A film exploring personal experiences of organ donation (from both a donor and recipient perspective) in members of the Muslim community was created by the British Islamic Medical Association (BIMA), using funding from NHSBT. Film viewings with a subsequent panel discussion were organised in Cardiff and Glasgow in March 2023. Pre and post-viewing questionnaires were conducted. Fisher’s exact test was used to statistically assess the change in perceptions following viewing of the film.
Results: 9 individuals completed the pre-film questionnaire in Cardiff, whilst 15 completed it in Glasgow. 58% of the participants were female, most of the participants were in the 30-39 age range and from South Asian backgrounds. 29% of the participants described themselves as extremely religious, and 38% described themselves as moderately religious. 83% of respondents were aware of the organ shortage. 79% had thought about donating their organs after death, but only 42% had thought about living organ donation. Only 58% of respondents had discussed organ donation with their family. 50% of respondents agreed that their opinions on organ donation had changed after watching the film. When comparing responses prior to watching the film and post the film viewing 12% more of the respondents agreed that organ donation was compatible in Islam (p value 0.5). 37% more participants agreed that they would be an organ donor assuming organ donation was permissible in Islam (p-value 0.018). Following the film,100% of respondents pledged to share their wishes on organ donation with their loved ones.
Conclusion: Although the respondents had some understanding of the topic of organ donation, viewing an educational film containing experiences of organ donors and recipients allowed them to gain a better grasp of the topic and its permissibility in Islam. Following the film, the respondents were more likely to donate their organs and discuss their wishes with their loved ones. We hope to conduct film screenings across other UK cities to continue the organ donation conversation across the BAME community.
