Knowledge and Perceptions of Blood Safety among Blood Donors in Kelantan, Malaysia

Abstract

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.

Awareness, Motivation, and Barrier of Blood Donation among Adults in Puncak Alam

“…In line with other studies involving health science students, Musa and Shaaban (2019) observed low levels of awareness about donation requirements. Similarly, in a study conducted by Tan et al (2019), poor knowledge or awareness about blood donation was reported. From all the results stated above, there are still people with low awareness of blood donation.…”

“…According to the findings of a study carried out by Salimah et al (2018), the respondents have a low level of knowledge about blood donation. Research findings by Tan et al (2019) also point to only 18.5% of the donors having adequate knowledge, while 81.5% had inadequate knowledge. The research conducted by Sham et al (2019) revealed that the desire to help others and establish good practice was ranked as the most important factor (98%) for blood donation.…”

Exploring the determinants of risk behavior for transfusion transmissible infections among first-time blood donors in Mandalay General Hospital, Myanmar

“…Prevention of TTIs depends critically on understanding of the knowledge, attitude, and risk behavior of first-time blood donors. Blood donor screening questionnaires, which are crucial for determining health status and infection risk, may have limitations due to the fact that some donors may not completely disclose deferrable risk behavior as a result of the socially sensitive nature of questions [ 7 ]. By recognizing high-risk behavior, early intervention and counseling can be provided, to safeguard the blood supply [ 8 ].…”