An Assessment of Knowledge Level & Attitude Towards Organ Donation Among Students and the Role of Media in Awareness

A social study was conducted to assess the Knowledge level, attitude and status of media awareness regarding organ donation among the students of Mewar University, Chittorgarh (Rajasthan).Organ donation is very important for society and is a life-saving treatment option for patients with end-organ damage.India is struggling with an acute shortage of organs.There is a wide gap between the need for and availability of organs.There are various myths and fears associated with organ donation, too.According to a survey in India, it is found that every year, 5 lakh people die because of the non-availability of organs.Organ transplantation has been a very important achievement of modern medical science [1].Low awareness towards Organ donation and transplantation may be cause of low organ donation rates, so it is necessary to analyze the level of awareness towards organ donation among the students.The media play a crucial role in raising awareness about organ donation through print media, television and social media.These are effective platforms for spreading the message and encouraging people to register as donors.Increased media coverage can contribute to higher donation rates and ultimately save lives.Since students can be a very active catalyst in spreading awareness, it is crucial to know how aware they are of OD.To analyze this, a pre-structured and pre-tested questionnaire through a Google form was used to conduct the study among the 224 students (male -137 & female -87) of Mewar University between the age group of 18-32 years.This study reveals the low level of awareness in the media (internet, TV, radio, news papers, magazines, friends and relatives etc.).Most of the students had the fear that their organs will not go to those who needed them the most and also believed that family consent was still necessary for a registered brain-dead person to donate organs.65% of the students think that more information about organ donation can support them in owning a donor card and another 75% believe that awareness about organ donation should be part of education in schools and colleges.