Knowledge and Attitudes Toward Organ Donation and Transplantation Among Nursing Students: A Multicentre Cross-Sectional Study

<b>Background/Objectives</b>: Organ transplantation is a vital treatment for individuals with advanced chronic-degenerative diseases. However, the global shortage of donated organs remains a significant challenge. Improving knowledge and attitudes could positively impact this issue. This study assessed the knowledge and attitudes of nursing students regarding organ donation and transplantation. <b>Methods</b>: A cross-sectional study was conducted using a previously validated questionnaire administered to 235 second- and third-year undergraduate nursing students from two Italian universities. <b>Results</b>: The response rate was 67.3%. Only 40.4% of students felt adequately informed about transplants and brain death, while 12.8% would not authorise organ transplantation for a family member. Willingness to authorise organ procurement from family members in a brain-dead state was positively associated with being atheist or agnostic (χ² = 7.235; <i>p</i> = 0.022), being in the third year of study (χ² = 4.282; <i>p</i> = 0.039) and having positive self-assessed knowledge (χ² = 8.061; <i>p</i> = 0.005). <b>Conclusions</b>: Nursing students exhibited suboptimal knowledge and positive attitudes toward organ and tissue donation. However, there is a need for health policymakers to implement strategies to raise awareness of the importance of organ donation through school and community programmes and public education campaigns.