TITLE:
Perception and Stigma Regarding Eye Donation among Employees in a Tertiary Care Centre
AUTHORS:
Anuja Desai, Parin Mehta
KEYWORDS:
Awareness, Corneal Blindness, Eye Donation, Keratoplasty, Willingness to Pledge
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Ophthalmology,
Vol.11 No.4,
November
29,
2021
ABSTRACT: Purpose: To understand the awareness and knowledge about eye donation in the employees of a tertiary hospital. Methods: A structured Google form based cross-sectional survey was conducted among 678 employees comprising of medical, nursing, students and paramedical staff. The responses were evaluated in an Excel spreadsheet and tabulated. Results: 86% of the employees had awareness about eye donation, however, their knowledge regarding the same was either inadequate or incorrect. Only 63% had pledged their eyes and of the remaining, about 63.5% were willing to pledge. Conclusion: Awareness levels are high among the hospital workers but the lack of basic information is alarming. These need to be improved so that common people can be motivated to pledge and donate their eyes and correct the disparity between the need and availability of donor eyes for transplants.