[Knowledge and attitudes towards corneal donation among medical students]

Corneal transplantation can greatly improve or even fully restore vision in people with corneal diseases. In Germany, organ donation rates have been low for many years, so the demand for corneal tissue continues to exceed the available supply. A major reason for this shortage is the limited awareness and understanding of corneal donation. This study aimed to assess the knowledge of medical students at the University of Tübingen about corneal donation and to examine what influence a lecture on the topic could have.

A total of 129 students completed a questionnaire with 21 items assessing their attitudes towards and knowledge of corneal donation, both before and after attending a lecture on the subject.

Overall, 77.5% of participants were willing to donate their corneas but only 23.3% had ever discussed the topic with family members. Before the lecture, students answered an average of 4.1 out of 9 knowledge questions correctly (45.6%), compared to 7.7 (85.6%) afterward.

Even among advanced medical students, there are considerable knowledge gaps regarding corneal donation. Integrating this topic more deeply into medical education could improve understanding and, in the long run, increase willingness to donate.