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Eye Donation Project: Differences between donors versus refusers Sunee Chansangpetch, MD1,2, Usanee Reinprayoon, MD1,2, Nipaporn Maneerat, MD³, Jittapan Chureekanon, MD¹ ¹Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok Thailand Objective: To assess factors associated with the family members willingness to donate eyes of their deceased loved ones. Designs: Prospective descriptive study. Methods: Relatives of 122 potential post-mortem eye donors were approached and interviewed by the local eye bank coordinators working for the Eye Donation Project in Queen Savang Vadhana Memorial Hospital and Chaophaya Abhaibhubejhr Hospital during April 2006 – March 2007. Information was categorized into 3 parts: 1) general and socioeconomic status, 2) activity of patients' daily life scores (ADLS), medical conditions and causes of death, and 3) reasons for donating eyes of the deceased. Various factors were compared between those willing to donate (Yes group) versus those who refused (No group). Results: From 122 cases, 22.13% came from the Yes group whereas 77.86% were from the No group. We found no differences of socioeconomic status and level of education between both groups. There were no statistical differences for ADLS between both groups (p=0.125). The reasons for donating the eyes were to obtain religious merit, fulfill the donors' wishes and provide recipients with an opportunity to gain back their vision. As for those who refused to donate, the reasons were: beliefs in reincarnations, family conflicts, and belief that a person's body should remain intact. Conclusions: Socioeconomic status, level of education and medical conditions did not affect the family's decision making process in regards to eye donations. Success of an eye donation project is possible if there is a well-planned counseling offered by an experienced team to the potential donor family. |
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