Abstract :
Context: Corneal diseases constitute major cause of blindness in the developing countries.Current rates of
corneal procurement are inadequate that it is difficult for eye banks in India to meet the growing demands
for cornea. Nursing staff community must be made aware of the significance of eye donation which can in
turn influence the transplantation rates of cornea.
Aims: To assess the understanding and attitude along with willingness towards eye donation within the
nursing staff community.
Settings and Design: Cross-sectional, questionnaire based study.
Materials and Methods: Fifty-five nursing staff participated in the study. A self designed validated
questionnaire was administered to them.
Statistics: Descriptive statistics like percentages and proportions were used for the analysis.
Results: There was a strong awareness amongst the nursing staff on the option to make an eye donation
after death and it was noted that 63.6% (n= 35 ) of the subjects knew that it has to be done within 6 hours
of death. Majority (n= 45) of the subjects who were willing to donate their eyes responded that the reason
behind their willingness is to provide vision to a person in need. Main reasons for not pledging to donate
their eyes by the nursing staff included objection from the family, lack of knowledge about the process.
Conclusion: The nursing staff of a hospital can play a significant role in sensitising patients and their
attendants towards eye donation. Even though all of the nursing staffs were aware of eye donation, few of
them were hesitant to donate eyes.
Keyword :
Awareness, Knowledge, Eye donation, Nursing staff.