Understanding and Supporting Public Information Needs About VCA Donation
Abstract
As the field of Vascular Composite Allotransplantation (VCA) grows, demand for VCA donations will increase. VCA donation requires separate authorization, commonly provided by deceased donors next of kin. Therefore, the public should be educated to make informed decisions about VCA. This study aims to assess the availability and quality of existing VCA public education materials and to develop educational materials that increase public knowledge, understanding, perceptions of comfort, and willingness to donate. To date, 1,314 public education materials have been analyzed. Materials commonly covered upper limb (34.7%) and face (34.5%) transplants, and often referenced a specific VCA story (76.6%). Materials less commonly covered reproductive VCA (6.4%) or other VCA types (2.8%). In addition, six focus groups with members of the public have been conducted (n=42 total) in two metropolitan cities. Focus group participants discussed their impressions of and concerns about VCA, willingness to be a VCA donor, willingness to authorize VCA donation, perceived barriers to VCA donation, and recommendations for public education about VCA. We analyzed focus group transcriptions using thematic analysis. Participants recommended educating the public about VCA by making information clear, comprehensible, and relatable.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 2021
- Accession Number
- AD1156107
Entities
People
- Elisa J Gordon
- Gerald Brandacher
- Macey Levan (henderson)
Organizations
- Johns Hopkins University