Objective: To determine public perception of brain death and organ donation from participants of the northeast region of Thailand, answered questionnaires from audiences of the organ donation exhibition were reviewed to assess knowledge and attitude.

Materials and Methods: These exhibitions were arranged in 15 places in three provinces between July 1 and December 31, 2012 by the Organ Transplantation Unit, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University. Audiences were asked to fill out the questionnaire before they were educated about organ donation from well-trained officers.

Results: Seven hundred seventy-five subjects undertook the survey. Most were male (99.4%) and most (99.2%) were aged between 19 and 30 years old. Importantly, 54.3% did not feel that brain death truly defined death while 36.3% thought that brain death patients could recover. The other interesting point is 29.2% noted that donated organs might be sold. Only 14.8% believed that organ donation could cause disability in the next life and 65.9% did not agree or did not know that organ donation is justified in religious concept.

Conclusion: The significant barrier to organ donation are deficiency in knowledge about brain death, organ donation, and transplantation as well as underrated social reliance on process regulation. These information contrast with previous studies in Thais.

Keywords: Deceased organ donation, Organ donation in Thailand, Brain death knowledge, Attitude towards organ donation