AWARENESS OF ORGAN DONATION IN NEWLY ADMITTED STUDENTS OF MEDICAL COLLEGE: A CASE CONTROL STUDY IN WESTERN MAHARASHTRA

Introduction: Organ transplantation is the process of replacing diseased organs, parts of organs or tissues by healthy organs or tissues. The only way to increase organ donations is to educate the health care professionals and public about the importance of becoming an organ donor. One of the best ways is to educate the youngsters in the medical field. Aims:This study aims to determine the knowledge and awareness of 1st MBBS students regarding organ donation. Material & Methods: Cross sectional questionnaire based study was conducted in Medical College of Western Maharashtra. Total 50 students, consisting both male (23) and female (27) students participated in the study. The aim was achieved by opting pre and post written test by predefined questionnaire, so as to check knowledge gained by the newly admitted 1st MBBS students of MIMER Medical College before and after showing a short film ?Hello Jindagi?, followed by interactive discussion based on the organ donation. Data was analyzed in Microsoft Excel. Results &Conclusion:The results showed that knowledge gained after showing film was raised from 81% to 96%. So over all 15% gain in the knowledge was observed. ?Paired t test? indicate statistically significant difference (P<0.049) between pre and post-test. The results of the study revealed that there exists a knowledge gap and lack of awareness among the medical students regarding organ donation and there is an urgent need for addressing this knowledge gap which will help in improving the organ donation rate in our country. By giving right knowledge and orientation medicos can be become future organ donors who can then easily motivate their patients to follow the path.