DOI: 10.36347/sjams.2018.v06i01.070

Pages: 341-344

Every year India records several deaths due to organ failure. Despite the amendments to the Transplantation of Human Organs Act and the medical advancements in donor and organ care, the rate of organ donation remains low. A major cause of the low rate of organ donations is the lack of awareness among the people. The medical students can greatly help to increase the level of awareness among the people as they are in closer proximity to them. Hence the present study was carried out in medical students to assess the awareness regarding organ donation and transplantation. A questionnaire based, cross-sectional study was carried out in 186 medical students. The data was analyzed using EpiInfo for number and percentage. Out of 200, 186 students responded (112 females and 74 males). All the students were aware about the term organ donation, 51.2% answered that medical professionals were their source of knowledge followed by of electronic media (30.1%), 90.3% correctly responded that organ donation is legalized and 57.5% felt it should be mandated by law. 91.1% medical students were well versed that blood group and HLA Compatibility is essential for organ transplantation. Overall majority of medical students were aware about organ donation and transplantation, yet a certain degree of gap existed in the current knowledge levels which can be bridged by inclusion of these topics in curriculum which will act as a source of motivation to the students.