Abstract Background: Corneal blindness accounts as most important public health concern among adults in India. Less number of corneal grafts limits the surgical intervention. To determine the awareness regarding eye donation among students studying in allied health sciences (AHS) and non-AHS (N-AHS) students at a university. Methodology: A cross-sectional survey-based approach was made to assess the awareness. A 15-closed-ended questions in a questionnaire was circulated among the students from June, 2024 to October 2024. Final year students were included. The ones who completed the full survey were considered for further analysis. Results: In a study of 521 participants, 49.7% were from AHS and 50.3% from N-AHS, with average ages of 21.3 and 21.6 years, respectively. AHS students showed higher awareness of eye donation (92.7% vs. 84.0%, P < 0.001) and lower odds of misconceptions (odds ratio OR = 0.65, P = 0.01). Field of study, year of study, and information sources were independent predictors of awareness, with adjusted odds of 2.18 for AHS students ( P = 0.003) and higher awareness for those in later years (adjusted OR AOR = 1.63, P = 0.04). Additionally, awareness was the strongest predictor of the desire to donate, with adjusted odds 3.42 times higher among those aware ( P = 0.001), and attitudes were influenced by the absence of religious concerns (AOR = 2.31, P = 0.04). Conclusion: AHS students have higher awareness of eye donation parameters, necessitating regular awareness programs in communities and colleges to increase awareness and improve the nation’s eye donation program.
Biswas et al. (Wed,) studied this question.