Attitude and Knowledge of Nursing Students Towards Donation and Transplantation of Organs and Tissues

Abstract

Introduction: Organ transplantation numbers in Greece are lower than in other European Countries, probably due to the existing inadequate information about organ donation in the general population. Health professionals and nurses in particular are invited to contribute to the reversal of this situation by informing the population. Purpose: To assess the attitudes and knowledge of nursing students toward donation of tissues and organs. Methods: First year and senior students of the nursing school of the University of Athens were considered for a questionnaire addressing information level and attitudes toward donation. The questionnaire based on the literature. Statistical analysis encompassed Fisher’s exact test Results: 276 students (59 men, 217 women) with a mean age of 20±2years were enrolled in the study. The majority of participants (90.5%) had a positive attitude towards donation of tissues and organs. 63.9% declared their desire to become donors while only 2.2% owned a donor card. Fear of commercialization of organ donation was the main reason why students would hesitate to donate organs for transplantation. 19.9% of first year students towards 10.1% of senior students ignored the difference between brain death and vegetative state (p=0.028). Furthermore, 61.6% of first-year and 38.8% of senior students were not aware of the existence of the National Transplant Organization (p=0.001). Conclusions: The majority of students had positive attitude regarding organ donation, but only few owned a donor card, mainly because of the fear of commercialization. The level of knowledge regarding transplantation even in health professional candidates is inadequate and remains poor also by senior students. The improvement of the knowledge level could be achieved by integrating to the curriculum relevant courses and by visiting transplant centers. Only informed health professionals can convince the general population about the need for organ donation and transplantation.