{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,12]],"date-time":"2026-07-12T20:30:20Z","timestamp":1783888220795,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":45,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"15","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,25]],"date-time":"2025-07-25T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1753401600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Polish Minister of Science and Higher Education","award":["WSUB\/2023\/03\/00006"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["WSUB\/2023\/03\/00006"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["JCM"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Kidney transplantation from a living donor is considered the most beneficial form of treatment for end-stage renal failure, which, in addition to providing patients with better treatment results, significantly improves their quality of life. Understanding factors that influence the willingness to donate kidneys to strangers is critical in promoting and expanding the living donor pool. When considering the decision to become an altruistic kidney donor, individuals must evaluate multiple factors, including the identity of the recipient and their own perceived level of safety. This study aimed to assess the willingness of dialysis center employees to act as living kidney donors for a stranger. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study from February 2023 to June 2024 among dialysis specialists across Poland. The study involved 1093 people (doctors and nurses). The study used our survey questionnaire and standardized tools. Results: Nurses (vs. physicians) and those who advocated the regulation of unspecified living kidney donation in Poland, did not believe in the risk of organ trafficking, and would donate a kidney to a husband\/wife or friend and accept kidney transplantation from a husband\/wife were more likely to donate a kidney to a stranger. Furthermore, respondents who accepted a loved one\u2019s decision to donate a kidney to a stranger were significantly more willing to donate a kidney to such a person themselves. Perceived self-efficacy was positively associated with the willingness to donate a kidney to a stranger. Conclusions: Less than half of healthcare professionals supported unspecific living organ donation in Poland, and nurses were more willing to donate than physicians. The factors supporting the decision generally included knowledge about organ donation and transplantation, a lack of fear of organ trafficking, and attitudes towards donation.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jcm14155282","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,25]],"date-time":"2025-07-25T16:06:17Z","timestamp":1753459577000},"page":"5282","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Willingness to Become a Living Kidney Donor to a Stranger Among Polish Health Care Professionals Employed in a Dialysis Center: A National Cross-Sectional Study"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Paulina","family":"Kurleto","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Health Sciences, Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski Krakow University, 1 Herlinga-Grudzi\u0144skiego Street, 30-705 Krak\u00f3w, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Irena","family":"Milaniak","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Health Sciences, Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski Krakow University, 1 Herlinga-Grudzi\u0144skiego Street, 30-705 Krak\u00f3w, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lucyna","family":"Tomaszek","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Health Sciences, Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski Krakow University, 1 Herlinga-Grudzi\u0144skiego Street, 30-705 Krak\u00f3w, Poland"},{"name":"Institute of Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases, Rabka-Zdr\u00f3j Branch, Profesora Rudnika 3B Street, 34-700 Rabka-Zdr\u00f3j, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8377-4893","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Wioletta","family":"M\u0119drzycka-Dabrowska","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Anaesthesiology Nursing & Intensive Care, Faculty of Health Sciences, Medical University of Gdansk, Debinki 7, 80-211 Gda\u0144sk, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,25]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Hakim, N., Haberal, M., and Maluf, D. 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