Knowledge of Law Students on the Problems of Modern Transplantology Is Good but It Can Always Be Better

The progress of transplantation in Poland is influenced not only by medical staff, but also by the legislative organ, which approves amendments to the Act of the Collection, Storage and Transplantation of Cells, Tissues and Organs. This is why young lawyers should be aware of the scale of the problem and have current statistics on transplant issues. Aim. To assess the awareness of existing problems in the field of transplantation in Poland among law students. Materials and Methods. A survey (with 11 questions) of 209 law students at the University of Bialystok (64% women and 36% men). Results. Of respondents, 32% do not see the difference between dialysis treatment and transplantation, and 47% are convinced that the 5-year survival of dialysis patients is as much as 70% (in fact this number is twice as low). Still, 13% of people consider the stereotype of family consent for organ procurement is necessary. Of law students, 5% indicated that organ trafficking is allowed in Poland, and 41% believe that as many as 5% of people in Poland stated in writing opposition to removal of their organs after death. Fortunately, this number is much smaller (2%). The respondents have current knowledge about the place of Poland in the world in terms of the number of donors. Relatively good results were recorded in questions about medical knowledge. Conclusions. In most questions, the correct answer obtained the highest score, but it was not an absolute majority. There is a trend among law students for an optimistic approach to statistics and the real problems in transplantology.