Intention to Donate Kidney and Associated Factors Among Students in Bahir Dar University: Application of Theory of Planned Behavior

BACKGROUND: Kidney donation is the donation of a kidney from a living or dead person to another living person who requires transplantation. The scarcity of kidneys is a great public health concern worldwide, owing to an increase in end-stage renal failure. There is no sufficient evidence regarding the intention to donate kidneys in Ethiopia. OBJECTIVE: To assess the intention to donate kidneys and its associated factors among Bahir Dar University students in Ethiopia in 2023 by the application of theory of planned behavior. METHOD AND MATERIALS: This institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted from March 7 to April 5, 2023. A multistage sampling technique was used to select 630 participants. Self-administered structured questionnaires were used to collect data. Data were entered into Epi-data version 4.6, and exported to the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25 for analysis. Bivariate and multivariate linear regression analyses were performed. Findings with a p-value <0.05 at the 95% confidence interval were considered statistically significant and interpreted by the unstandardized beta (ß) coefficient. RESULTS: The mean score of intention to donate the kidney was 12.9 ± 4.1 standard deviation. Direct attitude (B = 0.341, 95% CI = 0.265, 0.416), direct subjective norm (B = 0.088, 95% CI = 0.010, 0.167), direct perceived behavioral control (B = 0.353, 95% CI 0.251, 0.455), knowledge (B = 0.417, 95% CI 0.251, 0.583), and previous experience of blood donation (B = 0.915, 95% CI 0.321, 1.510) were factors associated with intention to kidney donation. CONCLUSION: The mean score of intention to donate kidneys was 12.9 ± 4.1 SD. Direct attitude, direct subjective norm, direct perceived behavioral control, experience with blood donation, and knowledge of participants were significant factors for the intention to donate kidneys. Therefore, social and behavioral change communication strategies should address these factors in order to increase kidney donation.