Assessing Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices (KAP) Regarding Organ Donation Among the General Population in Perambalur, India: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background Organ transplantation is a successful medical intervention available for end-stage organ failure. There is a wide gap between the need and the availability of organs.The government has begun specific, long-term initiatives to encourage organ donation, although it has not been able to come to a stage of full realisation. Objective The objective of this study is to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) regarding organ donation among the general population in Perambalur, India. Methodology This cross-sectional study was performed among the general population in Perambalur, Tamil Nadu, India, from December 2022 to February 2023. About 470 individuals were selected using the convenience sampling method. A semi-structured pro forma was used to collect the socio-demographic profile, and a questionnaire was used to assess the KAP of organ donation. The minimum and maximum scores for knowledge of organ donation were 0-13 and for attitude and practice as 0-8. The data were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, IBM Corp., Version 26.0, Armonk, NY), and the categorical data were represented as frequency and percentage, whereas mean and standard deviation represent quantitative data. The chi-square test was used to investigate the relationship between sociodemographic characteristics and KAP regarding organ donation. Results A total of 470 responses were analyzed, with 57.7% males and 65.3% from rural areas. Most (84.7%) had heard of organ donation, mainly through television (78.6%). Awareness was highest for eye (89.4%), kidney (76%), and heart (71%) donation. While 83.6% supported organ donation, only 16.8% pledged, and 5% registered as donors. Adequate KAPs were seen in 34.1%, 29.1%, and 27.1% of participants, respectively. Younger age, urban residence, higher education, and upper socioeconomic class were significantly associated with better KAP scores (p=0.001). Conclusion Despite high awareness and a positive attitude toward organ donation, actual donor registration remains low. More than one-fourth of the participants had adequate KAP, influenced by factors such as younger age, urban residence, higher education, and upper socioeconomic status. Misconceptions, cultural beliefs, and religious concerns were key barriers to participation. Targeted awareness campaigns involving media, healthcare professionals, and religious scholars are crucial to increasing acceptability. Strengthening donor registration systems and policy-driven incentives can help bridge the gap between awareness and actual organ donation.