CHANGING ATTITUDE TO ORGAN DONATION AND TRANSPLANTATION IN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS DURING THREE YEAR COURSE OF MEDICAL SCHOOL IN ITALY

Abstract

P126 Aims: University students, in particular those attending science courses, have a more favourable attitude toward organ donation and transplantation than general population (usually 60-75%). We have previously reported that medical students attending the 1st year of course had a satisfactory knowledge related to organ donation and transplantation. No many data are available on the effect of Medical School on increasing knowledge on this topic. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of three year course at the School of Medicine (among the 1st and the 4th year) on organ donation and transplantation of medical students. Methods: Medical students attending the 4th year of School of Medicine at Padua University, Italy, who had been previously identically surveyed three years ago, were surveyed again with an anonymous 10-item questionnaire on attitude to organ donation and transplantation. Results: 100 out of 101 (99%) students completed the 4th year questionnaire (29 males and 71 females, mean age 23.7, range 22-32 years), corresponding to 100/195 students attending the 1st year course. Students had attended classic or scientific high school (91%) and were catholic (83%). 92% of students at the 1st year considered transplantation a life-saving procedure for end-stage organ disease, percentage which was seen to be 96% three years later. Similarly, 91% of the 1st year students were aware of the paucity of organ donation in our country, percentage increased to 96% three years later. 88% of the 4th year students were prepared to donate their organs after death, percentage similar to what we have described three years ago (87%). 97% and 95% of the 1st year students did accept organ transplantation as a life-saving procedure for themselves from a human donor or an artificial organ respectively, similarly (96%) three years later. 91% of the 4th year students would accept an animal organ if necessary and this percentage was higher than what reported on the 1st year students (84%). A new question was added at the 4th year questionnaire, since the donor card was introduced later in our country: 63% of the 4th year students agreed on organ donation by signing the donor card. Conclusions: Three years of Medical School did not significantly improved knowledge and did not change attitude towards organ donation and transplantation, probably depending on the scarcity of new information in between the 1st and 4th year of studies. This is confirmed by the limited number of signed donor card. However, it is confirmed that students are much more in favour of organ donation than general population.