Organ Donation among Medical Students: A Cross-sectional Study of Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices
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Abstract
Background: Patients with end-stage organ failure experience a gradual deterioration in health status and daily functioning, and the timing of death is often uncertain. Organ transplantation is the only curative treatment for these patients. In India, there are 0.26 organ donors for every million people. This is a result of people’s ignorance of the requirements for organ donation as well as the overall lack of knowledge among the general public and medical experts about the significance, methods, advantages, and legal issues surrounding organ donation. Thus, the purpose of this study was to ascertain medical students’ knowledge, attitudes, and practices about organ donation.
Methods: A pretested semi-structured questionnaire was used in a cross-sectional study to evaluate the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of 180 medical students on organ donation. Microsoft Excel was used to enter and evaluate the data.
Results: The majority of medical students (66.7%) were female, with a mean age of 23.03 ± 0.73 years. 88.89% of participants were willing to donate organs, while 90.55% of participants had adequate awareness about organ donation. Merely 5.6% had a donation card. Knowledge of organ donation was substantially correlated with willingness to donate. Fear of organ misuse was the most frequent obstacle to organ donation. The most popular source of information was the Internet.
Conclusion: The findings reveal that while the majority of the students were adequately knowledgeable, there is still a need for further improvement in the knowledge, attitude, and practices. Appropriate knowledge and orientation can empower future physicians to be donors themselves and motivate their patients accordingly.
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