Organ Transplantation and Donation From the Point of View of College Students

The organ transplantation saves the life of individuals whose life is in danger due to organ/tissue failure. The presence of negative and positive attitudes toward tissue and organ donation is a determinant factor in the donation of tissue and organ donation.

This study has aimed to explore the opinion of senior students studying at the undergraduate level toward organ transplantation and donation.

The study employed a descriptive and cross-sectional research design using a reliable questionnaire, which was distributed among 317 undergraduate students at the Faculty of Health Sciences (Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation, Nutrition, Nursing, Sports Sciences, Health Management Department) during the fall semester of the 2016-2017 academic year. A total of 240 responses were analyzed using χ² test with SPSS software.

The results of the study showed that 57.4% of the students were willing to donate their organs after their death, 62.7% of the students' relatives wanted to donate their organs, 57.3% were willing to donate it to their deceased relatives, whereas 96.7% did not have any relative waiting for a transplantation. Families' negative opinions on tissue and organ transplantation and donation, status of getting information about tissue and organ transplantation and donation, and presence of a person waiting for tissue and organ transplantation in the family or in the environment were not effective in students' opinions about tissue and organ transplantation and donation (P > .05).

The results of this study contribute to determination of multicultural features of health sciences students that are likely to affect organ donation.