Awareness of Organ Donation among Fresh Students in Medical Field

Abstract

Many deaths due to organ failure can be avoided if organ donors are available. Lack of donors may be because of the lack of
knowledge and awareness of many issues about organ donation. In the present study, an attempt had been made to probe this
issue from the fresh students in medical field because through them the message can reach the public through their direct
contact with people in the out-patient department, admission wards and medical camps. It is a cross-sectional questionnairebased
study involving Madha Group of Educational Institutions and Tagore Medical College & Hospital in Chennai. 287 male
and female students of 1st year medical, dental and nursing colleges participated in the study. A questionnaire with 55 questions
on various aspects of organ donation was given to them to answer by choosing “yes/no/don’t know” or “right/wrong/don’t
know” in 30 minutes. The results showed that about 60% of the students had sufficient knowledge about the storage of
harvested organs and compatibility check. About 90% of them were aware of the need of organ donation and they extended
their support for the act. But hardly 7% of them registered for the same. They were also weaker in the areas like time lapse
between harvesting and transplanting the organ, who could donate to whom, cadaver donations, methods of promoting organ
donation and regarding the payment to be made to the donors or his relatives After collecting the papers for evaluation, the
participants were educated with more emphasis on the weaker areas.