Importance for the Elderly of Discussion in the Family and Society About Attitude Toward Organ Donation B. Febrero a,b, *, J. Almela a , R. Febrero a , A. Ríos a,b , M.R. González b , P.J. Gil b , D. Ferreras b , I. Ros a , P. Ramírez a,b,c , and P. Parrilla a,b a Department of Surgery, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain; b Virgen de la Arrixaca University Hospital and Instituto Murciano de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Murcia, Spain; and c Regional Transplant Center, Consejería de Sanidad y Consumo de la Región de Murcia, Spain ABSTRACT Background. The aging of the population has changed some of the approaches to the organ donation and transplant (ODT) process, such as considering elderly people as potential donors. We aimed to assess social and family discussions among the elderly about ODT and its effect on their attitude toward organ donation. Methods. A study was carried out at 2 publicly-funded social centers for the elderly. Contact was made with individuals >65 years of age (n ¼ 120) to seek their participation in the study. A questionnaire was distributed to them with questions about ODT. A descriptive assessment was performed with the Student t test and c 2 test used for statistical analysis. Results. The completion rate was 87% (n ¼ 104). Of the respondents with a partner and children, 48% had discussed the topic of ODT. It was found that talking about the subject with one’s partner, children, or friends had a favorable inﬂuence on attitude compared with when this was not done (93%, 86%, and 83% vs 19%, 30%, and 31%, respectively; P < .001). In addition, the opinion of one’s partner and children toward ODT also had an inﬂuence; if favorable, the respondent’s attitude was more favorable, compared with when they did not know their opinion (92% to 88% vs 58% to 37%, respectively; P < .001). Other ODT-related variables did not affect their attitude (P > .05). Conclusions. Almost half of the elderly people had discussed ODT socially or with their family. This discourse has a favorable inﬂuence on their attitude toward organ donation and, therefore, it is important to encourage social and family dialog among this group. A T PRESENT, in Spain, around 20% of the population is >65 years of age. It is clear that the aging population has changed some approaches to the organ donation and transplant (ODT) process, leading us to include elderly people on the transplant waiting list as well as assessing them as potential donors [1]. The current proﬁle of a donor is a person who is older than in the past, with cerebrovas- cular accident being the most common cause of death [2]. Currently, the mean age of donors is about 52 years and 40% are >60 years of age [3,4]. With advanced age, interpersonal relationships and related emotions change and it is during this stage in one’s life when the family becomes the fundamental group of reference [5]. Our aim in this study was to analyze discussion in the family and society that elderly people have had about ODT and the inﬂuence of this discussion on their opinion about organ donation. METHODS The study was carried out at 2 publicly-funded social centers for the elderly in southeastern Spain. Contact was made with invid- iduals >65 years of age who were attending workshops taking place in the social center (n ¼ 120). A questionnaire was handed *Address correspondence to Beatriz Febrero, Crta/Madrid- Cartagena, s/n 30120, El Palmar, Murcia, Spain. E-mail: beatriz. febrero@um.es ª 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. 230 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10169 0041-1345/18 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.transproceed.2017.09.056 Transplantation Proceedings, 50, 523e525 (2018) 523