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Educational Program of Organ Donation and Transplantation at Medical School
Educational Program of Organ Donation and Transplantation at Medical School C.D. Garcia, A.P. Barboza, J.C. Goldani, J. Neumann, R. Chem, J. Camargo, F. Lucchese, I. Marcon, A. Marcon, A. Brandão, A. Kalil, S.P. Vitola, V. Bittencourt, S. Hausen, D. Todeschini, L. Elbern, E. Castro, and V.D. Garcia ABSTRACT A favorable attitude of health professionals to organ donation can positively influence the decision of families of potential donors. By increasing health professionals knowledge about donation and transplantation and qualifying them to disseminate information, education has produced a positive response to increase the insufficient number of donors. Educating students early in their careers may become crucial in this setting. In order to supply the necessary information about the process of donation and transplantation, a medical school in association with the Hospital Transplant Coordination Department created an educational program of organ donation and transplantation. This course is intended for medical, biomedical, and nutrition students. The objective of our program is to supply basic knowledge about organ donation and transplantation to students of medicine, nutrition, and biomedicine and to enhance their commitment to this process. Each semester, 50 to 90 students are enrolled in the course, which involves a total of 25 hours. Various aspects are approached such as brain death, donor management, political and legal aspects of donation, and skin, lung, bone marrow, heart, pancreas, liver, and kidney transplantation. Between March 2006 and June 2007, three courses were carried out and 200 students were trained. The students evaluated the course and rated it as excellent, concluding that it contributed to their education. Their attitude toward organ donation and transplantation was strongly positive at the end of the course. This project aims to educate and stimulate students in the process of organ donation and transplantation and should be implemented in other medical schools.
W
HILE THE NUMBER of individuals able to benefit from transplantation increases with technological development, donation rates remain insufficient.1 Among the main obstacles are the elevated rates of family refusal, including many reasons such as not understanding brain death diagnosis, body deformation and commerce fears, and unfamiliarity of the allocation system.2,3 These worries and lack of understanding of the donation process might not be solved only by general public campaigns. A favorable attitude of health professionals to organ donation can positively influence the decision of families of potential donors. By increasing health professionals knowledge about donation and transplantation and qualifying them to disseminate information, education has produced a positive response to increase the insufficient number of donors. Educating students early in their careers may become crucial in this setting.4,5
The objective of our program is to supply basic knowledge about organ donation and transplantation to students of medicine, nutrition, and biomedicine and to enhance their commitment to this process. METHODS In order to supply the necessary information about the process of donation and transplantation, a medical school in association with the Hospital Transplant Coordination Department created an educational program of organ donation and transplantation. This From the Fundação Faculdade Federal de Ciências Médicas de Porto Alegre, Complexo Hospitalar Santa Casa de Porto Alegre - RS, Porto Alegre, Brazil. Address reprint request to Clotilde Druck Garcia, Rua Correa Lima 1493, Porto Alegre, 90859-250, Brazil. E-mail: cdgarcia1@ uol.com.br
0041-1345/08/$–see front matter doi:10.1016/j.transproceed.2008.03.051
© 2008 by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. 360 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10010-1710
1068
Transplantation Proceedings, 40, 1068 –1069 (2008)
EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM AT MEDICAL SCHOOL course is intended for medical, biomedical, and nutrition students. Each semester, 50 to 90 students are enrolled in the course, which involves a total of 25 hours. With the acquired information, they are stimulated to participate in lectures and debates in schools, universities, clubs, and companies and after graduation about the process of organ donation. Various aspects are approached, such as encephalic death diagnosis, donor management, political and legal aspects of donation, and skin, lung, bone marrow, heart, pancreas, liver, and kidney transplantation. The course program includes the following elements. ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
Current situation and perspectives of transplantation The donation and transplantation process Encephalic death diagnosis Transplant indications Family interview Transplant immunology Organ and tissue allocation—living and deceased donor Transplant and society: media and education Cornea transplantation Tissue bank and transplantation of skin Bone marrow transplantation Kidney and pancreas transplantation Liver transplantation Lung transplantation Ethics and transplantation
RESULTS
Between March 2006 and June 2007, three courses were carried out and 200 students were trained. The students evaluated the course and rated it as excellent, concluding
1069
that it contributed to their education. Their attitude toward organ donation and transplantation was strongly positive at the end of the course. DISCUSSION
A favorable attitude of health professionals toward organ donation can positively influence the decision of families of potential donors: educating physicians early in their careers may become crucial in this setting. This project aims to educate and stimulate students in the process of organ donation and transplantation and should be implemented in other medical schools. REFERENCES 1. Capaverde FB, Londero GG, Figueiredo FM, et al: Epidemiology of brain death and donation rate in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil: analysis between 1988 and 2004. Transplant Proc 39:346, 2007 2. Barcellos FC, Araujo CL, da Costa JD: Organ donation: a population-based study. Clin Transplant 19:33, 2005 3. Tessmer CS, da Silva AR, Barcellos FC, et al: Do people accept brain death as death? A study in Brazil. Prog Transplant 17:63, 2007 4. Rios A, Ramirez P, del mar Rodriguez M, et al: Benefit of a hospital course about organ donation and transplantation: an evaluation by Spanish hospital transplant personnel. Transplant Proc 39:1310, 2007 5. Burra P, De Bona M, Canova D, et al: Changing attitude to organ donation and transplantation in university students during the years of medical school in Italy. Transplant Proc 37:547, 2005
W
HILE THE NUMBER of individuals able to benefit from transplantation increases with technological development, donation rates remain insufficient.1 Among the main obstacles are the elevated rates of family refusal, including many reasons such as not understanding brain death diagnosis, body deformation and commerce fears, and unfamiliarity of the allocation system.2,3 These worries and lack of understanding of the donation process might not be solved only by general public campaigns. A favorable attitude of health professionals to organ donation can positively influence the decision of families of potential donors. By increasing health professionals knowledge about donation and transplantation and qualifying them to disseminate information, education has produced a positive response to increase the insufficient number of donors. Educating students early in their careers may become crucial in this setting.4,5
The objective of our program is to supply basic knowledge about organ donation and transplantation to students of medicine, nutrition, and biomedicine and to enhance their commitment to this process. METHODS In order to supply the necessary information about the process of donation and transplantation, a medical school in association with the Hospital Transplant Coordination Department created an educational program of organ donation and transplantation. This From the Fundação Faculdade Federal de Ciências Médicas de Porto Alegre, Complexo Hospitalar Santa Casa de Porto Alegre - RS, Porto Alegre, Brazil. Address reprint request to Clotilde Druck Garcia, Rua Correa Lima 1493, Porto Alegre, 90859-250, Brazil. E-mail: cdgarcia1@ uol.com.br
0041-1345/08/$–see front matter doi:10.1016/j.transproceed.2008.03.051
© 2008 by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. 360 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10010-1710
1068
Transplantation Proceedings, 40, 1068 –1069 (2008)
EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM AT MEDICAL SCHOOL course is intended for medical, biomedical, and nutrition students. Each semester, 50 to 90 students are enrolled in the course, which involves a total of 25 hours. With the acquired information, they are stimulated to participate in lectures and debates in schools, universities, clubs, and companies and after graduation about the process of organ donation. Various aspects are approached, such as encephalic death diagnosis, donor management, political and legal aspects of donation, and skin, lung, bone marrow, heart, pancreas, liver, and kidney transplantation. The course program includes the following elements. ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
Current situation and perspectives of transplantation The donation and transplantation process Encephalic death diagnosis Transplant indications Family interview Transplant immunology Organ and tissue allocation—living and deceased donor Transplant and society: media and education Cornea transplantation Tissue bank and transplantation of skin Bone marrow transplantation Kidney and pancreas transplantation Liver transplantation Lung transplantation Ethics and transplantation
RESULTS
Between March 2006 and June 2007, three courses were carried out and 200 students were trained. The students evaluated the course and rated it as excellent, concluding
1069
that it contributed to their education. Their attitude toward organ donation and transplantation was strongly positive at the end of the course. DISCUSSION
A favorable attitude of health professionals toward organ donation can positively influence the decision of families of potential donors: educating physicians early in their careers may become crucial in this setting. This project aims to educate and stimulate students in the process of organ donation and transplantation and should be implemented in other medical schools. REFERENCES 1. Capaverde FB, Londero GG, Figueiredo FM, et al: Epidemiology of brain death and donation rate in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil: analysis between 1988 and 2004. Transplant Proc 39:346, 2007 2. Barcellos FC, Araujo CL, da Costa JD: Organ donation: a population-based study. Clin Transplant 19:33, 2005 3. Tessmer CS, da Silva AR, Barcellos FC, et al: Do people accept brain death as death? A study in Brazil. Prog Transplant 17:63, 2007 4. Rios A, Ramirez P, del mar Rodriguez M, et al: Benefit of a hospital course about organ donation and transplantation: an evaluation by Spanish hospital transplant personnel. Transplant Proc 39:1310, 2007 5. Burra P, De Bona M, Canova D, et al: Changing attitude to organ donation and transplantation in university students during the years of medical school in Italy. Transplant Proc 37:547, 2005