Attitude of patients, the public, doctors, and nurses toward organ donation

Abstract

ECENT DEVELOPMENTS in the fields of medicine and surgery have made it possible to transplant a variety of human organs and tissues. With the advent of new immunosuppressant drugs many transplantation procedures have shifted from being experimental oddities to viable treatment options. Although it has been demonstrated that as many as 50% to 60% of patients with end-stage renal disease could benefit from kidney transplantation, there is a chronic shortage of organs. 1 Brain stem death was accepted in India only after the Human Organ Transplantation Bill was passed by the parliament in 1994, it was enacted by the government of India on February 4, 1995. There are problems regarding organ donation, however, which are peculiar to India. The present study was performed to assess the awareness and the attitude of Indian patients, the public, doctors, and nurses toward organ donation. MATERIALS AND METHODS The study was carried out by means of a questionnaire including 3 groups of responses: awareness of organ donation, willingness to donate organs for transplantation, and attitude regarding appropriate procedures for organ procurement. The selection of patients, doctors, and nurses was made randomly from those at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, whereas the public was selected from an adjoining area of the hospital. RESULTS The 990-person study group included 300 patients, 376 members of the public, 200 doctors, and 97 nurses. Regarding the awareness of organ donation, 96% of patients, 97% of the public, and 100% of doctors and nurses were aware of organ donation. More than 90% of the patients and the public had heard of kidney donation, whereas among the doctor and nurses the figures were 100% and 98%, respectively. Of the patients 68.5% and 86.1% of the public had heard of corneal donation, whereas among doctors and nurses it was 98% and 77.8%, respectively. The figures among patients, the public, doctors, and nurses regarding heart donation were 41.7%, 58.1%, 93.5%, and 66.3%, respectively, whereas regarding liver donation, 28.8%, 20.5%, 87.5%, and 30%, respectively. Although the majority of the doctors (62.1%) was willing to donate the organs of their relatives, among patients and the public the figure for the same was less than 30%. Among the nurses, the majority (58.2%) was undecided regarding whether to donate the organs of their relatives. The most common source of information for most of the respondents was the newspaper.