Abstract
M.Cur. (Intensive General Nursing)
Knowledge and technological advancement in the field of transplantation has increased the demand for organ donation. However, the supply of organs does not meet this demand, especially, among the black communities. Literature reviewed associate this imbalance with the few sources of organs, the technique of organ retrieval, discrepancies in the allocation of organs and sociocultural factors.
The aim of this study was to investigate the extent to which the Zulu cultural norms and
social structural dimensions influence an individual's decision to donate an organ or to
undergo a transplantation, based on the theoretical assumptions of Leininger and Chrisman.
A qualitative approach using an ethno- nursing method was selected, semi-structured
interviews were conducted with the transplant co-ordinator representing the professional
sector, the religious leaders and traditional healers representing the folk sector and the
general public representing the popular sector of the health care system. The respondents
were extracted from both the urban and rural settings. The conclusions arrived at were that there is lack of knowledge among the Zulu speaking people on organ donation and transplantation, related mainly to misconceptions associated with their life patterns, beliefs about death, burial and life hereafter, values and social structural dimensions. The recommendations with regard to the promotion of organ donation and transplantation among the Zulu speaking people were made based on culture sensitive and culture congruent principles, namely:
• Cultural care preservative or maintenance such as ancestor worship, extended families
etc.
• Cultural care accommodation or negotiation such as their knowledge of anatomy and
physiology of the human body especially the transplantable organs and their fear to
discuss death, etc.
• Cultural care repatterning and restructuring such as culture sensitive educational
campaigns to dispel the fears and correct misconceptions.