gms | German Medical Science

130. Kongress der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Chirurgie

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Chirurgie

30.04. - 03.05.2013, München

Educational intervention study on organ donation during four consecutive years – the solution is in our hands

Meeting Abstract

  • Sonia Radünz - Universitätsklinikum Essen, Klinik für Allgemein-, Viszeral- und Transplantationschirurgie, Essen
  • Benjamin Juntermanns - Universitätsklinikum Essen, Klinik für Allgemein-, Viszeral- und Transplantationschirurgie, Essen
  • Fuat H. Saner - Universitätsklinikum Essen, Klinik für Allgemein-, Viszeral- und Transplantationschirurgie, Essen
  • Andreas Paul - Universitätsklinikum Essen, Klinik für Allgemein-, Viszeral- und Transplantationschirurgie, Essen
  • Gernot M. Kaiser - Universitätsklinikum Essen, Klinik für Allgemein-, Viszeral- und Transplantationschirurgie, Essen

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Chirurgie. 130. Kongress der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Chirurgie. München, 30.04.-03.05.2013. Düsseldorf: German Medical Science GMS Publishing House; 2013. Doc13dgch856

doi: 10.3205/13dgch856, urn:nbn:de:0183-13dgch8564

Published: April 26, 2013

© 2013 Radünz et al.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/deed.en). You are free: to Share – to copy, distribute and transmit the work, provided the original author and source are credited.


Outline

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Introduction: One of the main reasons for organ shortage is insufficient education on organ donation. Knowledgeable medical students could share the information with friends and families resulting in a positive attitude to organ donation of the public.

Material and methods: During four consecutive years, we conducted a voluntary educational intervention study on organ donation in the course of the main surgery lecture at the University of Essen, Germany. Intervention was composed of a baseline questionnaire, a specific lesson by a trained transplant surgeon and a second questionnaire. During the lecture, organ donor cards were handed out. Statistical analysis was performed using the Fisher's exact test or the chi square test as appropriate.

Results: Valid questionnaires from 298 medical students were analyzed. Prior to the specific lecture on organ donation 63% of the students carried a signed organ donor card with the intention to donate. Additional 27% stated they might carry an organ donor card in the future. Further information regarding organ donation was required by 35% of the students. The request for further information was statistically significantly higher among students without a donor card compared to organ donor card carriers (p < 0.0001). After the lecture, the number of students requiring further information regarding organ donation decreased statistically significantly to 20% (p < 0.0001). The rate of organ donor card carriers (66%) did not increase accordingly. The influence of the lecture on the students’ attitude to organ donation was rated as positive by 36% of the students, 63% declared there was no influence and 1% documented a negative influence.

Conclusion: Structured education on organ donation and its further evaluation is imperative. To continuously raise awareness of organ shortage well-directed programs need to be applied. Better training on organ donation will help medical students to become disseminators for this important topic in our society.