The relationship between empathy levels of obstetrics and gynecology specialists and their attitudes toward posthumous organ donation

Empathy is recognized as a critical factor in shaping attitudes toward organ donation among healthcare professionals. Given the continuous patient interaction and decision-making roles of obstetrics and gynecology specialists, the limited number of studies examining the link between empathy levels and attitudes toward postmortem organ donation represents a significant gap in literature. This study aims to investigate the relationship between empathy levels and attitudes toward postmortem organ donation among obstetrics and gynecology specialists. This correlational cross-sectional study included 142 obstetrics and gynecology specialists. Data were collected via Google Forms using a personal information form, the Toronto Empathy Questionnaire, and the Attitude toward Posthumous Organ Donation for Transplantation Scale. Analyses were conducted using SPSS 26 and JASP 0.19, including the Spearman’s correlation, Mann-Whitney U, Kruskal-Wallis, and Machine Learning-Random Forest regression analysis methods. 93% of the participants stated that their empathy levels influenced organ donation decisions, and 74.6% reported considering organ donation. Their mean TEQ score was 56.25 ± 7.51, while their mean APODS score was 4.37 ± 0.57. A statistically significant moderate positive correlation was found between empathy and general attitudes toward postmortem organ donation (r = 0.428, p < 0.05). Statistically significant, weak-to-moderate positive correlations were also found between empathy levels and the APODS Positive Attitudes dimension (r = 0.373 p < 0.01), Religion dimension (r = 0.266, p < 0.01), and Family Approval dimension (r = 0.352, p < 0.01) scores of the participants. Significant differences were observed in empathy scores based on gender, empathy levels, and organ donation consideration status (p < 0.05). Attitudes toward posthumous organ donation also varied significantly by empathy levels, donation consideration status, ethical/humanitarian perception of donation, and religious influence (p < 0.05). In the exploratory Random Forest model, attitudes toward organ donation had the highest relative contribution to model performance. Obstetrics and gynecology specialists exhibit moderate empathy levels and highly positive attitudes toward posthumous organ donation. Higher empathy scores were associated with more favorable attitudes toward organ donation among obstetrics and gynecology physicians. Interventions addressing empathy and donation awareness may be valuable, but their effects on attitudes and donation-related behavior should be tested in longitudinal and interventional studies.