A study to assess the knowledge of medical students regarding organ donation in a selected college of Western Maharashtra

Assessing Medical Students' Perspectives on Organ Donation: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background Organ donation is a community service that not only saves lives but also improves the quality of life. The major concerns causing organ shortage in the country are the lack of awareness and correct knowledge among the public and myths and misconceptions clouding organ donation because of religious and cultural barriers. Material and methods A cross-sectional study was conducted among 300 medical students of a private medical college in the Telangana region, India, from July 2019 to October 2019 after approval from the Institutional Ethics Committee (IEC). A total of 300 participants (218 females (72.66%) and 82 males (27.33%)) were included in the study. Respondents completed a three-section questionnaire that included sociodemographic data, 15 questions on knowledge, and 12 questions on the attitude and ethical aspects of organ donation. Statistical tests utilized for investigation were the Student's t-test and one-way ANOVA to compare knowledge and attitude scores. Results The mean knowledge score among the participants was 10.85±1.79, with a P value of 0.45. The mean attitude score concerning organ donation among the participants was 45.5±4.47, with a P value of 0.44. The majority (87.1%) showed a positive attitude in this study. Conclusions The study emphasizes the necessity of interdisciplinary educational interventions for medical students to help them realize the complexities of the problem holistically. Their attitude regarding organ donation is not significantly affected by traditional educational interventions such as lectures and demonstrations. Educated healthcare professionals will play a critical role in motivating the public for the cause of organ donation promotion.

Knowledge, attitude and willingness to donate organ among medical students of Jimma University, Jimma Ethiopia: cross-sectional study

Background

The lack of organ donors has become a limiting factor for the development of organ transplantation programs. Many countries are currently facing a severe shortage of organs for transplantation. Medical students, as future doctors can engage in the role of promoting organ donation by creating awareness and motivating the community to donate their organs besides their voluntary organ donation. The aim of this study is to assess the knowledge, attitude and willingness of undergraduate medical students’ towards organ donation at Jimma University.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted among 320 medical students from year I to internship using questionnaire in order to assess their knowledge, attitude and willingness regarding organ donation. Data collected was entered using epidata and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 20.

Results

Mean (±SD = standard deviation) age of participants was 23.48 ± 17.025 years. 57.8% of the study subjects were male. There was a statistically significant interaction effect between gender and year of study on the combined knowledge questions (dependent variables) F(25,062) = 1.755,P = 0.014, Wilk’s Λ = .033. Variables which were related to a positive attitude towards organ donation were: being of the male sex (Odds Ratio = 1.156); having awareness about organ donation (Odds Ratio = 2.602); not having a belief on the importance of burying intact body (Odds Ratio = 5.434); willingness to donate blood (Odds Ratio = 4.813); and willingness to donate organ (Odds Ratio = 19.424).

Conclusion

High level of knowledge but low level of positive attitude and willingness was noticed among the study participants toward organ donation.