Abstract

Background: Organ transplantation is the best lifesaving treatment for end-stage organ failure. The World Health Organization (WHO) stated that currently less than 10% of estimated global needs of the donated organs are available. This circumstance of organ shortage leads to high mortality rates of patients who are in the need of organs. This study was conducted to assess the knowledge and attitude of health science college students of Jouf University toward organ donation and to identify the barriers to donate the organs among them.
Methodology: The study was conducted via self-administered questionnaire on students from different health colleges of Jouf University, from March 2019 to September 2019. The questionnaire inquired about sociodemographic details, knowledge, attitude, and barrier for students' willingness to donate organs.
Results: Most of the participants (73.1%) believed that the kidney is the most commonly donated organ, followed by the blood (62.7%), heart (53.7%), and eyes. Nearly half (51.9%) of participants believed that a lack of adequate knowledge regarding organ donation is the major barrier for organ donation. The study participants willing to donate their organs irrespective of any circumstances were 51.2%. Nearly half (48.8%) of participants were willing to donate mainly to their family members, but very little (1.9%) proportion of the participants donated their organs in their life.
Conclusion: The implementation of strategies from the Saudi Centre for Organ Transplantation (SCOT) in health science colleges will strengthen students' knowledge regarding the policies of SCOT. Hence, healthcare science students can influence the community on the importance of organ donation.

Key words: Organ donation, healthcare science students, knowledge, attitude.