Awareness and Beliefs Towards Organ Donation in Chronic Kidney Disease Patients

Abstract

Introduction: There is a wide discrepancy between demand for and availability of donor organs for organ transplantation. There is no study on awareness about organ donation in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients in India. Objectives: To study the awareness and beliefs towards organ donation in CKD patients on hemodialysis in western India. Patients and Methods: Authors conducted a cross sectional study among 85 CKD patients to evaluate knowledge about and attitude towards organ donation at a tertiary hospital. Results: Age of respondents ranged from 15 to 75 years. All were aware of term organ donation and cadaver donation. About 47% of people heard about organ donation through hospital or from doctor. Strikingly, radio was not the source of information to any of the respondents, despite radio being one of the most common medium of mass communication. Almost one third of patients were unaware about any legislation regarding organ donation. All respondents felt that organs should go to the needy irrespective of their religion. About 70% feel that medical colleges should make decisions about organ donation in case of unclaimed dead bodies. About 31.76% believe that there is a danger that donated organs could be misused, abused or misappropriated. Conclusion: Our study shows about 31.76% of our participants believe that there is a danger that donated organs could be misused, abused or misappropriated. There seems to be paucity of information and awareness regarding organ donation among CKD patients. Mass media, religious and political leaders may be involved to maximize awareness about organ donation.

Awareness of chronic kidney disease and the perception of the community towards organ donation and renal transplantation in Riyadh province of Saudi Arabia

“…[34,35] However, this is inconsistent with the international studies, 70% of the respondents opted for mass media in Turkey, 44.7% opted for newspapers in Pakistan, and 47% opted for hospitals or doctors in India. [36][37][38] In the current study, about 53.3% of the participants strongly supported organ donation. Of the participants, 64% were willing to donate to their families.…”

Understanding clinical complexity in organ and organizational systems: Challenges local and global

“…While CKD has been a burdensome disease, with nearly 120,000 people from Telangana availing MHD every year, through the government-subsidized health insurance scheme, 54 focus on organ donation and awareness of organ transplantation has remained primitive at best. No studies have yet been published on the attitude and awareness toward organ donation and organ transplantation in Telangana, however, two studies from Ahmedabad, Gujarat 55,56 were performed, surveying patients with CKD on MHD on their attitudes and beliefs on organ donation and transplantation-most patients had awareness about what organ donation was, but insight into various aspects such as legal implications, recipient waiting list and subsequent changes in quality of life was lacking. This makes it imperative, that doctors and allied healthcare practitioners are thoroughly aware of organ donation and transplantation and help their patients make informed decisions on organ transplantation.…”