Analysis of the Knowledge of Medicine Students from Mafra-SC About Brain Death and Organs Transplantation

Abstract

Introduction: Organ transplantation (OT) is a historical advance in medicine as result of the evolution of surgical techniques and immunosuppressive drugs. Brain death (BD) which is defined as the total and irreversible cessation of brain functions, closely related to OT, as these patients are potential organ donors. Objective: This study aims to evaluate the knowledge from Universidade do Contestado’s medical students regarding brain death and organ transplantation. Materials and methods: This is a prospective, analytical and descriptive study, carried out with Universidade do Contestado’s medical students, where questionnaires were applied to evaluate their knowledge on the addressed topic. In the research 139 students participated from the first to the ninth phase of the medical course, being 68.6 % feminine and 31.4 % masculine. Of these, 62.6 % have already participated in a class on ME and 44.6 % in a class on OT. 84.2 % of students do not feel able to make the diagnosis of BD, and about 51.8 % assess their knowledge of the research topics as regular, 38.8 % as poor and only 9.4 % assess it as being good. Still about BD, 69.8 % of the participants know its concept, but when asked about BD criteria, exams needed for its diagnosis and about the Brazilian legislation necessary for thedonation to occur, the answers were divergent. In the study, 79.9 % of the participants intend to donate their organs. Conclusion: Most students presented knowledge around BD and OT but do not feel capable of making BD diagnosis. The study also showed that most participants would like to be organ donors.