Knowledge and attitude regarding organ donation and transplantation among undergraduate medical students in North coastal Andhra Pradesh

Abstract

Background: Organ transplantation is one of the greatest scientific advances and remains one of the most challenging and complex field of modern medicine. In the USA and UK, the organ donation rate is 26 and 14 per million, whereas in India, it is only 0.34 per million population. Healthcare professionals act as the critical link in the organ procurement process because they are the first individuals to establish relationship with the potential donors' family.Methods: An institution based descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among first year undergraduate medical students during November 2017. Convenient sampling method was used to obtain the sample size. Out of 150 students in first year, 136 students fulfilling the inclusion and exclusion criteria were studied.Results: Out of 136 students who participated in the study, 58 (42.6%) were boys and 78 (57.4%) were girls. All the 136 (100%) students had heard about organ donation, but only 24 (17.6%) of them were aware of organ donation associations. Very few students (5, 3.6%) know about any law related to organ donation in India. Mass media like TV, Internet and Newspapers have played a major role in imparting awareness regarding organ donation among students besides relatives and friends. Majority of the students i.e. 104 (76.4%) were ready to donate their organs if need comes and two third of them accepted that they would allow organ donation from a member of their family after Brainstem death.Conclusions: There is a positive attitude of medical students towards organ donation but there is lack of sufficient knowledge on the topic. Improving their knowledge by including organ donation topic in medical curriculum can help to reduce this gap.

The Investigation of Preservice Teachers’ Epistemological Beliefs, Knowledge Levels and Attitudes regarding Organ Transplantation and Donation

“…Research suggests that the education level of health professionals is positively related to their personal willingness to donate organs (Schaeffner, Windisch, Friedel, Breitenfeldt, & Wolfgang, 2004). The positive effect of education level has been studied in various populations and may have a direct influence on attitudes toward organ donation (Ozdag, 2001;Ganta et al, 2018;Srivasta & Mani, 2018). The results of both us and other studies are very encouraging in terms of emphasizing the importance of education.…”

“…The common characteristics of organ donors are being young, well-educated and having a high socio-economic status (Ozdag, 2001). Studies in literatures indicated that cadaveric organ donation rates are quite high in countries, which place importance to education about organ donation and are able to create a level of awareness about this issue in society (Ganta et al, 2018;Srivasta & Mani, 2018). In addition to that, comparisons between east-west or developed-developing countries determined that in all societies younger people compared to older people, women compared to men, well educated people compared to less educated people have a more positive view regarding organ donation.…”

“…However, the number of recipient patients on waiting lists for different organs continues to increase (Council of Europe, 2014). There is a wide gap between demand and supply of donated organs and the shortage of organs is a worldwide problem (Ganta, Pamarthi, & Prasad, 2018). The major concerns causing organ shortage are lack of awareness and correct information among public, myths and misconception clouding organ donation due to religious and cultural barriers, etc.…”

Awareness of Organ Donation in Newly Admitted Students of Medical College: A Case Control Study in Western Maharashtra.

“…Organ transplantation is one of the greatest scientific advances and remains one of the most challenging and complex field of modern medicine. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines organ donation as the gift of an individual's body parts after their demise for transplantation (Ganta, Pamarthi, & K, 2018). The present study provides several important insights into the knowledge and awareness of organ donation among newly admitted 1 st MBBS students of Medical College.…”

Knowledge and attitude towards organ donation among people seeking health care in Kozhikode, Kerala, India

“…In this study, it was interesting to see that almost 99% of the participants were aware about organ donation, which was similar to the findings in the study by Srinivas Rao G et. al [9]. This can be attributed to high literacy rate in the state of Kerala.…”