Awareness and knowledge on eye donation among Allied Health Sciences, medical, and nursing students in Goa

To assess the awareness and knowledge on eye donation among students of Allied Health Sciences (AHS), medical, and nursing.

A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted using a standard predesigned and pretested closed-ended structured questionnaire based on eye donation to obtain information about awareness and knowledge from AHS, medical, and nursing students of Goa.

Three hundred and forty participants participated in the study. The majority of the participants [97.9% (95% CI: 95.8-99.2)] were aware of the existence of eye donation. Mass media (62.9%) was the foremost source of information. However, only 145 [42.6% (95% CI: 37.3-48.1)] participants were willing to donate their eyes. AHS, medical, and nursing students stood apart significantly in their awareness and knowledge. Only 60 [17.6% (95% CI: 13.7-22.1)] participants were aware that the whole eye can be removed from the donor while 215 [63.2% (95% CI: 57.9-68.4)] were wrongly aware that the cornea can be removed separately. Awareness about eye donation was not associated with willingness to donate eyes.

Although awareness regarding eye donation was satisfactory, there was lack of willingness to donate eyes. There is a need to bridge the gap between eye bank and donors.