Study of knowledge, practice about eye donation among medical and paramedical students in eye OPD

Abstract

Background: Eye sight is very important for human life. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that every 5 seconds someone goes blind. Globally, 37 million people are blind, and of these nearly 10 lakh blind people are willing for corneal transplantation.Aims: The aim of the study was to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding eye donation among the students.Materials and Methods: The data were collected by the questionnaire method from medical and paramedical students at. Data collected from the participants were analyzed using percentage and descriptive statistics.Results: The participants were well aware of eye donation (99.2%) quoting media as a major source of information for their knowledge. Attitude regarding eye donation in few (45.6%) was different as it was against their religious belief, although they said it was a service to the mankind (92%). Out of the 250 students, 48% were willing to pledge and 52% students did not believe in pledging their eyes.Conclusion: The findings of the study showed that overall knowledge about eye donation among students was good, however the attitude and practice showed mixed responses.