A Study to Assess the Knowledge, Attitude and Misconceptions Regarding Organ Donation after Brain Death among Common People in Rural Areas

Demand of organs for transplantation continues to exceed the limited supply all over the world. This gap of demand and supply is themain obstacle to transplantation. There is lack of awareness and correct knowledge among public and there are many misconceptions surrounding organ donation leading to hesitancy in donating organs. In the western world, 90% of donations are from brain dead donors and only 10% are from living donors. Currently in India, about 95% of all the transplants are living donations and just 5% are from brain dead. The present study intends to assess the knowledge, attitude and misconceptions regarding organ donation after brain death among common people in selected rural areas. Methodology: A quantitative cross sectional design with convenience sampling was used. Knowledge, attitude and misconceptions of 100 people were assessed using a structured knowledge questionnaire, Five point Likert and structured dichotomous questionnaire respectively. Major findings: Majority of the samples were in the age group 41-50 years (27%) and higher proportions (80%) and them were females. Regarding the educational status, majority (35%) was having higher secondary education and 21% of the samples were graduates. Only 5% of samples have good knowledge level regarding organ donation after brain death and majority (70%) has average knowledge. The mean knowledge score is 10.03 +/_ 3.373 (max score =20). It is interesting to note that one by third (25%) of the people has poor knowledge about organ donation after brain death. Even though the knowledge level is poor, nearly half of the subject (45%) has good attitude regarding organ donation. Majority of the study participants (54%) has average attitude towards organ donation after brain death. The mean attitude score is 38.1+/- 4.461 (max score=50). Regarding the various misconceptions about organ donation after brain death, 40% of the samples think that the mind of the recipient will change if we transplant the heart. Half of the people (50%) believe that organs of a female cannot be transplanted to a male. 64% of the study participants feel that there is a chance to misuse the donated organs. Nearly half of the people (44%) believe that treatments are available to reverse the brain death. Conclusion: Assessment of knowledge, attitude and misconceptions on organ donation is essential for better understanding of the community on different aspects of organ donation. This study implies the need for intensified and sustained education campaign to raise the knowledge on organ donation after brain death and thereby removing the hurdles behind organ donation.