Knowledge attitude and practices of people towards voluntary blood donation

Author: 
Prerna Singh Dhakar., Sanjay Prakash., Vandna Chhabra and Bhagchand

Introduction: Voluntary blood donation is the easiest and most effective means to collect blood. In developing countries more than 50% of blood donations are made by paid and voluntary donors.There are replacement donors who donate blood for their friends, relatives. Ignorance, fear and misconceptsabout blood donation and lack of voluntary blood donation organizations are major constraints in developing countries to facilitate voluntary blood donation. Considering the estimated shortfall of 3 to 4 million units of blood annually in India, more awareness must be created among all strata of population especially among youngsters and females on importance of blood donation.
Aims and Objectives: The objective of this study was to determine the factors influencing blood donation at selected sites in Udaipur.
1. To assess the knowledge regarding blood donation among voluntary blood donors.
2. To assess the attitude regarding blood donation among voluntary blood donors.
3. To establish the socio-economic and demographic characteristics of blood donors and potential blood donors at selected sites in Udaipur.
4. To find out the correlation between knowledge and attitude regarding blood donation among voluntary blood donors.
Materials and Method: The data was collected from voluntary blood donors in Udaipur zone. Predesigned questionnaire before and after interview used for study. The research approach used was evaluative approach. This study was conducted in voluntary blood donation camps outdoor and indoor in Udaipur.Data was collected by using closed ended questions in the form of structured questionnaire.
Conclusion: Majority of the respondents (53.07%; 242) were aged 18–27 years with a small proportion (5.92%; 27) aged 48 years or more. Maximum respondents were students (33.55%), followed by businessmen (19.96%), office worker (service) 8.55%, labourers (4.61%) etc. 66% were mentally strong enough of not afraid of needles. 34.43% were afraid of needles.68% of respondents felt that blood donation is altruistic whereas 32.24% felt it is not. In our region maximum number of donors (27.85%) were of the 'O +ve' blood group, followed by (24.56%) 'B +ve'. There rarest blood group was AB –ve (1.54%). 28.73% replied that they had a fear of acquiring anemia by donating blood followed by 25.88% had lack of knowledge about blood donation, 18.64% had fear of fainting /poor health, 11.18% had fear of needle pain etc. Only 1.97% feared of contaminated needle. There is a need for more public awareness steps involved in blood donation so as to remove unfounded fears. There is a need for regular studies on blood donation practices in various parts of the country so as to be able to formulate comprehensive policies as other regions may have differing reasons for donation or non-donation of blood.

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DOI: 
http://dx.doi.org/10.24327/ijcar.2018.11654.2023
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