BackgroundUnsafe blood products may cause transfusion-transmissible infections. This study aimed to evaluate the knowledge and perceptions of blood donors regarding blood safety.MethodsThis was a cross-sectional study conducted in the Kelantan state of Malaysia. The questionnaire comprised 39 questions that covered areas such as donors’ social demographic information, knowledge of transfusion-transmitted diseases, blood screening and donor eligibility and perceptions towards blood safety. The knowledge score was categorised as good or poor.ResultsOf the 450 distributed questionnaires, 389 were suitable for analysis. Only 18.5% of the donors had good knowledge, with 81.5% having poor knowledge. Less than 30% were aware that people with multiple sexual partners, bisexual people and male homosexual people are permanently deferred from blood donation. Only 29.4% agreed that donors are responsible if their blood causes infection. Furthermore, 39.3% assumed that they could check their HIV status through blood donation, and 10.3% and 5.4% of the respondents believed that donors are free from infection if they wear a condom during sex or only have oral sex when involved in prostitution, respectively.ConclusionPoor knowledge and notable misperceptions concerning safe blood donation were found among blood donors. The Ministry of Health should incorporate safe blood education in future public awareness programmes.
BackgroundIn Malaysia, blood supply relies mainly on non-remunerated blood donors. This study aimed to assess the satisfaction and experience of blood donors during the blood donation process and their intention to return for donation in future.Materials and MethodsThis was a cross-sectional study conducting using a self-administered questionnaire among blood donors. Study was conducted in a tertiary referral hospital and two mobile sites in the Perak state of Malaysia. The questionnaire was initially developed in the Malay language with 5-point Likert scale. The questionnaire comprised of three domains: i) sociodemographic characteristics ii) donor’s satisfaction towards staff iii) donors’ experience and satisfaction towards the donation process. ResultOf the 400 questionnaires distributed, 369 (92.3%) were analysed. The mean age of the donors was 35.98±10.67 years. Most of the donors were male (75.1%), of Malay ethnicity (60.2%) and regular donors (65.6%). Majority of the blood donors reported high satisfaction towards the interviewer (99.0%), blood taking skill of the staff (97.5%), politeness and friendliness of the staff (99.5%) and communication with the staff (98.9%). Minority of the blood donors expressed dissatisfaction towards the parking spaces (13.4%), refreshment (0.8%), and the blood donation operation hours (0.8%). Generally, the respondents had high overall satisfaction level (99.2%) and high intention to donate blood again in the future (98.9%). Conclusion Blood donors in the current study were highly satisfied towards the staff and blood donation process. Translation of high intention to return for donation to actual donation behaviour require further exploration in future studies.
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