Undergraduate medical, health science, and technical students' attitudes and knowledge on organ donation and...

Organ shortages remain a primary factor limiting transplant number. Raising awareness about organ donation and its medical benefits is one approach that could help dispel misunderstandings, improve willingness to donate, and increase the number of donors. This study aimed to examine the attitudes and knowledge of undergraduate students in medicine, health sciences, and technical fields regarding organ donation and transplantation, as well as to explore potential differences in perspectives across these groups.

An observational web-based questionnaire survey was created for Finnish undergraduate medical, health science, and technical students. The survey included both multiple-choice questions evaluated on a Likert scale from 1 to 5 and open-ended questions. Descriptive statistical analyses were used to evaluate the results.

A total of 559 students completed the questionnaire, comprising 210 (37.6%) medical, 146 (26.1%) health science, and 203 (36.3%) technical students. Willingness to donate was significantly higher among medical and health science students compared to technical students (97.6%, 94.5%, and 85.7%, respectively; p < 0.001). A total of 42 respondents indicated they would not donate their organs after death. The prevalence of non-donors was lower among medical and health science students combined compared to technical students (3.7% vs. 14.3%; 95% CI for the difference: 5.8-16.3%; p < 0.001). Among non-donors, 78.6% expressed willingness to receive an organ if needed. Non-donors were less likely to have shared their opinion on organ donation compared to donors (21.4% vs. 69.2%, p < 0.001). Only 8.8% of respondents felt there is sufficient public discussion about organ donation and transplantation, while 45% considered brain death a valid definition of death.

Overall, willingness to donate organs after death is high (92.5%), with the highest willingness observed among medical students. A majority of the respondents expressed their will to donate organs and tissues. Most non-donors cited lack of knowledge as the main reason for not donating, though two-thirds of them indicated willingness to receive an organ if needed. Increased awareness about organ donation is necessary.

Not applicable.