This cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the impact of pre-existing eye donation awareness of the next of kin on the donation rate after grief counseling with due ethical approval. The N=164 most stable next-of-kin, mostly the Brother (20.7%) or Father (20.1%) of the deceased, were approached by the Eye Donation Counselor (EDC). After assessing their awareness about eye donation through the Awareness and Perception on Eye Donation questionnaire (Ronanki, V.R, et. al), the EDC grief counseled the next of kin. 84.8% of all participants were aware of eye donation. The mean awareness, knowledge, and perception scores of the study population were 2.46 +/- 1.34 out of 4, 2.73 +/- 2.37 out of 6, and 1.79 +/- 1.72 out of 4 respectively. Eye care professionals (N=105 (64%)) and mass media (N=61 (37.2%)) were identified as the most common sources of information. While 52.4% expressed willingness to donate, only 7.3% donated and there was 1 voluntary donation. Counseling and the belief is eye donation being a noble deed were identified as the major motivators, and objections by other family members, and religious beliefs were the major barriers. There is no significant association between eye donation and the pre-existing awareness of the next of kin regarding eye donation. Although awareness is associated with the increased willingness to donate eyes.

The authors have declared no competing interest.

This study was conducted under the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) - Short Term Studentship (STS) 2022

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The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below:

Ethics committee of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India (DHR Reg: EC/NEW/Inst/2020/1046, CDSCO Reg: ECR/736/Inst/UK/2015/RR-21 gave ethical approval for this work via letter number AIIMS/IEC/22/355 dated 05/08/2022.

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All data produced in the present study are available upon reasonable request to the authors.