Investigação dos fatores que influenciam a decisão de se cadastrar no Registro Nacional de Doadores de Medula Óssea em alunos de graduação em Farmácia

Abstract

Hematopoietic stem cells transplantation can be used to treat more than 80 diseases, however, the number of patients seeking a compatible donor is still high. The chances of a patient finding a compatible donor are, on average, 1 in 100,000. In about 75% of patients requiring a donor, it is necessary to identify a possible donor from voluntary donors records, public cord blood banks, or compatible relatives. The “Registro Nacional de Doadores Voluntários de Medula Óssea” (REDOME) has the function of gathering information from people who wants to voluntarily donate bone marrow. Understanding the factors that favor or hinder the process of registering new voluntary donors in public banks becomes very important in trying to overcome the obstacles reported by different individuals and increasingly stimulate voluntary donation. Taking into account that the Pharmacy Undergraduate course is directly related to the Health area, this study aimed to know the students' perception about REDOME and to identify possible factors that influence the decision to register as a voluntary donor of bone marrow. For this purpose, a semistructured questionnaire tool was applied to 64 undergraduate Pharmacy students (from 3rd, 5th, 7th or 9th semesters), prior approval by Research Ethics Committee. There was prevalence of individuals from the 9th semester, female, single, catholic, non-blood donors and with no volunteer history. Most of the participants knew about the existence of REDOME, as well as specific aspects/ knowledge about this issue. However, most of them doesn´t know about the REDOME functioning and technical procedures involved in transplantation. Regarding the number of individuals registered in REDOME, only 15.62% declared registered. Among the motivations, being a blood donor seems to be the predominant factor favoring registration, followed by the feeling of help others. Among those who are not registered, most feel the desire to register, however factors such as fear of the pain involved in the procedure, lack of opportunity, lack of knowledge about the subject were used to justify the non-registration in REDOME. Therefore, possible strategies to encourage the registration of potential donors in REDOME could be carried out among students of the Pharmacy course, such as lectures with professionals directly connected to REDOME, in order to demystify the subject and soften the fears. In addition, to invite patients who have already performed the transplant and donors to share their experiences. It is extremely important that these future health professionals understand the processes involved in bone marrow donation in order to educate and recruit new donors.