Postgraduate residents' awareness of organ transplantation protocols – Survey at a teaching hospital

Abstract

Introduction: Much as the techniques have progressed to make organ transplantations safe and effective, the legal and ethical tangle surrounding the process has necessitated strict regulations and protocols to be followed. This paper studies a cross-sectional survey conducted on 198 postgraduate residents from various specialties with the aim of determining awareness of (a) legal and ethical requirements, (b) organ donation possibilities, and (c) technical details including brain-death criteria. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among postgraduate residents of all specialties in a tertiary care teaching institution. The survey instrument was a questionnaire with multiple choice questions aimed at evaluating awareness of the residents in the three knowledge domains. The mean scores of residents from each specialty and groups of specialties with similar work exposure were calculated and compared, with statistical significance tested using the ANOVA. Results: There was no statistically significant difference between the year-wise mean scores between residents of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd years. No significant difference in scores was obtained between groups of residents from similar specialties. Scores obtained by residents of specialties routinely managing patients in intensive care unit did not show any statistically significant difference with year of training. There was significantly lesser score obtained by anesthesiology residents in the domain concerning the possibility of donation of specific organs compared with surgery residents. There were significantly high mean scores in the knowledge domain related to brain death criteria and transplant techniques for medicine and surgery residents, respectively. Conclusion: The low levels of scientific knowledge regarding organ donation protocols and associated legalities among resident doctors are a matter of concern. These findings may merit consideration to include these protocols as part of teaching curriculum.