Dr.Soumya Sharat
Purpose:To study awareness&perception of eye donation among paramedical staff.Materials:Cross-sectional study was conducted among 30paramed staff over 3mnths.They were asked to fill a pretested,semi-structured questionnaire containing demographics,awareness regarding eye donation,reasons for willingness to donate/not donate eyes,sources of information.Results:Majority (95%)were aware that eyes can be donated after death& that it is for a noble cause,but only 60% knew that ideal time for donating eyes is within 6hrs of death.75% were willing to donate eyes after death&mass-media played a major role in creating this awareness.Major reasons for refusal to donate eyes include dislike of separating eyes from the body(10%), religious restrictions(15%),&unsuitability to donate eyes due to ocular diseases or surgeries/systemic diseases.Conclusion:This study revealed that majority of paramedical staff were aware of eye donation,& were willing to donate eyes after death;hindrances to be tackled.
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