322 THE NATIONAL MEDICAL JOURNAL OF INDIA VOL. 26, NO. 6, 2013 Original Articles Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh 160012, India RAVINDER AHLAWAT*, ANIL K. GUPTA, R.K. SHARMA Department of Hospital Administration VIVEK KUMAR*, VIVEKANAND JHA Department of Nephrology MUKUT MINZ Department of Renal Transplant Surgery VIVEKANAND JHA Department of Translational and Regenerative Medicine * Contributed equally to the manuscript Correspondence to VIVEKANAND JHA; vjha@pginephro.org © The National Medical Journal of India 2013 Attitude and knowledge of healthcare workers in critical areas towards deceased organ donation in a public sector hospital in India RAVINDER AHLAWAT*, VIVEK KUMAR*, ANIL K. GUPTA, R.K. SHARMA, MUKUT MINZ, VIVEKANAND JHA ABSTRACT Background. The attitude of healthcare workers towards organ donation can either facilitate or hinder the process of organ donation. We assessed the attitude of healthcare workers employed in intensive or emergency care units of our hospital towards organ donation, and the influence of various factors on willingness for self-organ donation after death. Methods. All doctors, paramedical workers, nursing staff and other staff members working in six distinct intensive or emergency care units in the hospital were requested to fill a completely anonymous, voluntary and self-administered questionnaire. Younger individuals, women and nurses constituted a majority of the study population. Results. The questionnaire completion rate was 99%. About 55% of the study population were agreeable to donating organs after death and 27% were undecided. The factors that positively influenced their willingness to donate organs after death were favourable attitude of the spouse, religious beliefs supporting organ donation, knowledge of hospital’s organ transplant programme, personal experience of the organ donation scenario, having ever donated blood or involvement in social activities, willingness to become an eye donor and willingness to become a living kidney donor. Conclusion. A largely favourable attitude towards organ donation was seen in our study population. However, the study reflects incomplete knowledge leading to confusion and thus, desire to know more among participants with respect to various aspects regarding organ donation. The factors identified that positively influence decisions regarding organ donation can be used as direct interventions. Natl Med J India 2013;26:322–6 INTRODUCTION Kidney transplantation is superior to dialysis in terms of survival, quality of life and cost of therapy, 1,2 and permits thousands of people with end-stage organ failure to enjoy a relatively normal life. It is the most viable long-term renal replacement option in large parts of the developing world including India. 3 An overwhelming majority of kidneys come from living donors, as the deceased donor programme is still in infancy and faces multiple barriers. 4 The deceased organ donation rates in India—which vary in different parts—have been estimated to be 0.08 per million population per year. 5 It has been suggested that sustained industrial growth, infrastructure support and higher rates of literacy in the southern and western regions of India are supportive to the growth of deceased donor programmes. 6 Our centre runs one of the oldest and biggest renal transplant programmes in a public sector hospital in northern India, with about 170 transplants every year. Deceased donation at our centre constituted 5.2% of the total renal transplants done from January 2010 to April 2011. In contrast, deceased donor renal transplants constituted about 14% of all renal transplants done at a centre in western India. 7 Recently, our centre has also started a liver transplant programme. Awareness programmes, personal beliefs and experiences of prior contact with healthcare services influence individual and societal attitudes and awareness regarding organ donation. In India, consent of the next of kin is mandatory before organs can be recovered from a deceased donor. The attitudes of healthcare workers who closely interact with the family of the deceased can influence their decision. 8 It has been suggested that the low conversion rate of potential organ donors to actual donors is perhaps due to the indifferent attitude of staff working in these critical care areas. Therefore, it becomes important to assess the knowledge and attitude of healthcare personnel towards organ donation. We conducted this study to assess the knowledge and attitude