Organ Donation and Transplantation Education

Spain's embedding of undergraduate transplantation exposure aligns with world-leading organ donation rates and outcomes and is cited as a model. A national survey of medical school deans found that 12% of schools provided no formal ODT teaching and 24% offered no compulsory clinical exposure. A survey of UK junior doctors found that 84% felt inadequately exposed to transplantation during training, and 97% believed ODT should be formally included in undergraduate curricula. UK undergraduate exposure to organ donation and transplantation is inconsistent, often absent, and has not been systematically mapped nationally. The most substantial UK evidence on undergraduate ODT education is more than two decades old. Schools without affiliated transplant centres may be at a disadvantage in providing ODT education. Outcomes-based curricular reforms may further marginalise specialised but clinically important areas such as transplantation. The study's long-term aim is to provide the empirical foundation for a standardised, evidence-based national ODT teaching module across UK medical schools.