Evaluation of the knowledge level of Faculty of Dentistry students about organ transplantation and donation

Abstract

The aim of this study is to evaluate the knowledge level of the dentistry students about organ transplantation and donation. A data collection questionnaire was applied to measure the level of knowledge about organ transplantation to 250 students studying at Dicle University Faculty of Dentistry. The questionnaire form was prepared with a total of 30 questions by checking the literature. The data obtained in this study were analysed with IBM SPSS Statistics Version 21 and evaluated with descriptive statistics and percentage analysis. The obtained results showed that 67.2% of the students participating in the study stated that they wanted to donate organs, 84.4% supported organ donation, and 76.8% did not find the level of knowledge about organ donation sufficient. Among the participants, 46% of them stated that they had received the information about organ donation from school-textbooks and seminars. In our research, 95.6% of the students stated that they do not have an organ donor identity card, 87.2% of them have no relatives or people around them who donate organs. Although the majority of the students found organ donation necessary, they abstained from donating for different reasons. We believe that information on the subject should not be limited to schools but should be conveyed to the whole society and more effective methods should be followed.

Keywords:

• Organ transplantation
• donation
• knowledge level

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank all healthcare professionals that agreed to share their perspectives.

Availability of data and materials

The datasets used and/or analysed during this study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Consent for publication

All participants in this study gave full written informed consent for participation and publication.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.