Evaluation of Knowledge About and Attitudes Towards Kidney Transplantation in Patients Undergoing Hemodialysis Treatment

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study was to evaluate hemodialysis (HD) patients’ knowledge about and attitudes towards Kidney Transplantation (KT). MATERIAL and METHODS: A total of 104 HD patients from two HD centers in a large city in central Turkey were included in this descriptive study. The questionnaire that was developed by researchers included questions on sociodemographic data and dialysis vintage, level of satisfaction resulting from HD treatment, willingness to undergo KT, knowledge about KT and choice of donor, etc. RESULTS: The mean age of the 104 patients was 60.03±17.01 years and the mean of dialysis vintage was 4.53±3.04 years. Of these patients, 62.5% declared their willingness to undergo KT, and among these, 76.9% declared that they had knowledge about KT. In regard to choice of donor, 79.7% stated that it was not important, while 56.7% were not informed about the existence of a waiting list for cadaveric donors. CONCLUSION: In order to increase in our country the number of cadaveric donors, which represent the most appropriate source of organ donation, several strategies should be considered, such as awareness-raising activities for patients and the community through campaigns by both the public and private sectors, and mass media.