Survey on attitudes toward brain-dead and living donor transplantation in medical students: a cross-sectional study in Japan.

Background: Although a shortage in organ donation is a critical problem in Japan, understanding of and attitude toward organ transplantation in medical students have not been sufficiently reported.

Methods: Between 2013 and 2018, we surveyed 702 medical students in the fifth-year clinical training in our urology department. The survey concerned (1) knowledge of Japanese transplantation law, which was amended in 2010, and (2) whether the respondents had an organ donor card and had agreed to be a brain-dead donor or a living donor in kidney transplantation with specific reasons for their choices.

Results: All 702 students answered the survey. Of 657 students who provided valid answers to the first section, 402 (61%) recognized the amendment to the Japanese transplantation law, and only 11 (1.7%) fully understood its contents. Of 702 students, 194 (28%) had a donor card, 384 (55%) agreed to be a brain-dead donor, and 529 (75%) agreed to be a living donor in kidney transplantation. As the specific reasons for their choices, only a few medical students wrote reasons based on their medical standpoint, and more students wrote emotional reasons.

Conclusions: The understanding of and attitude toward organ transplantation were not remarkably high in the fifth-year medical students in Japan. To solve the donor shortage problem, education about organ transplantation may need to be more effective.