Awareness of eye donation among medical students of tertiary care hospital, Bangalore

Abstract

Introduction: Blindness is a worldwide problem. Corneal blindness accounts for 0.9%of blindness in India. Approximately 0.12 million people are corneal blind. Restoration of their vision is possible only through transplantation. Though 45000 eyes are collected every year, it does not meet half the requirement. Well informed medical students could be expected to enhance eye donation rates. Objectives: To assess the awareness regarding eye donation among pre final and final year medical students of a tertiary care hospital in Bangalore. Methodology: A Cross sectional descriptive study was conducted among 160 pre final and final year medical students of a tertiary care hospital in Bangalore during September to November 2013.The study tool was pre tested semi structured self administered questionnaire Results:99.3% of students are aware of eye donation out of which only 9% pledged for donation. Objection by the family members (30.6%)is the main reason for not pledging. Knowledge of the fact that eyes should be removed within 6hours of death was found in 86.8%.A remarkable number of students (93%) were aware of shortage of donors in India. The main source of information is television among 41% of students. Conclusion: The results of the study indicate that although awareness regarding eye donation is high, there is lack of motivation related to eye donation.