<p>Knowledge, Attitude, and Willingness Towards Organ Donation Among Medical and Health Sciences Students in Central Region, Saudi Arabia</p>

Abstract

In this modern era, organ transplantation has become an important treatment method for certain diseases. Doctors and allied health professionals play important roles in continuing its advocacy and sharing knowledge within the community; thus, educating the public on organ donation is paramount. The present study aimed to understand the knowledge, attitude, and willingness toward organ donation of medical and health sciences students. Materials and Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional questionnaire-based study from January to March 2020. The pretested questionnaire was prepared on Google Forms, and the link was shared with 467 students graduating in medicine, dentistry, nursing, physiotherapy, and paramedical studies to analyze their knowledge, attitudes, and willingness towards organ donation. Of 467 students, 425 students provided complete answers and were included in data analysis. Results: We found that knowledge scores were uniformly low among students in all specialties except for those studying medicine and physiotherapy (p = 0.001). Moreover, female students scored higher than male students in all the three domains of knowledge, attitude, and willingness toward organ donation, and such was statistically significant (p = 0.001). Conclusion: Since final-year medical and health sciences students will soon graduate and join their respective professions, we recommend the integration of the topic of organ donation into their final-year curriculum to provide them with adequate knowledge so that they can provide proper guidance to the general public. Similarly, the advocacy in promoting organ donation should be increased through the use of appropriate mediums to change the attitudes and enhance the willingness of people.

Knowledge and Attitude of Iranian Medical University Students about Organ Donation and Transplantation: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…In a way that females showed higher knowledge and more positive attitudes toward organ donation. This result is consistent with the findings of Almutairi et al study in Saudi Arabia ( 19 ). In the contrary, the results of the study by Wolide et al indicated that male students had higher knowledge score ( 18 ).…”

“…The present study illustrated that the most used source of information regarding organ donation and transplantation was TV. The results of several studies done in Iran and other foreign studies were consistent to this study and in all of them TV was found as the main source of information ( 17 , 19 , 27 – 34 ). The results of the study carried out by Manzari et al among families with brain dead patient, pointed to the effective role of TV in decision-making of family regard donating their family member organs ( 35 ).…”

“…In line with the results of present study, the results of a study conducted among undergraduate health science students in Ethiopia revealed that undergraduate health science students have a good knowledge and a positive attitude toward organ donation ( 18 ). However, the results of a study in Saudi Arabia indicated a low level of knowledge about organ donation among medical and health sciences students ( 19 ). In addition, another study by Darlington et al indicate a poor knowledge regarding organ donation among Indian medical students ( 5 ).…”

Current state of ethical challenges reported in Saudi Arabia: a systematic review & bibliometric analysis from 2010 to 2021

“…The majority had no sufficient information about corneal donation and did not know how or where to apply to register as a cornea donor A significant correlation between participants' knowledge and willingness to donate The largest perceived barrier was the lack of information on where to donate or register as donors The main motive to donate was the religious belief of doing good and being charitable with their organs Almutairi [94] Students (n = 425) from Central province Medicine and physiotherapy students in their final year scored higher knowledge, attitudes, and willingness towards organ donation compared to dentistry, nursing, and paramedical counterparts Females scored higher than males in all the three domains of knowledge, attitude, and willingness toward organ donation Alnajjar et al [30] Students (n = 113) from Jeddah The majority were aware of the importance of organ donation More than half of the participants expressed a willingness to donate the organs of family members if they were to be diagnosed with brain death…”

Knowledge and Attitude Toward Organ Donation Among the Adult Population in Jazan, Saudi Arabia

“…In Saudi Arabia (KSA), the approximate number of donated organs is about 2-4 million as compared to the more than 20 million population in countries like the United States and Spain [5][6][7]. The steeply expanding need between patients who need transplantation and the availability of qualified donors is a significant reason for concern that mandates further attention [8][9]. As indicated by accessible assessments, a total of 146,993 organ donations were made all around the world in 2018 [10].…”