Perception of Blood Donation among Medical and Pharmaceutical Science Students of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka

Abstract

Background: Safe blood is a vital component in improving healthcare globally and millions of lives are saved each year through blood donation. But most hospitals in the developing countries face challenges of constant supply of blood to carry out different life saving procedures that require blood, due to paucity of blood donors. Many studies have been done on the perception of blood donation but only a few have been on Medical and Pharmaceutical Students. Aim: To determine the perception of blood donation among Medical and Pharmaceutical Students of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Nnewi and Agulu Campuses respectively. Material and Methods: Stratified sampling technique was used to divide the students into strata (200, 300, 400, 500, and 600), then simple random sampling was used to select different respondents from each class and self-administered questionnaires were given to the respondents. Data was collected and results were analyzed. Results: 294 respondents, 147 medical students and 147 pharmaceutical students participated in the study 141 (95.9%) of medical students and 137 (93.2%) of pharmaceutical students had heard of blood donation. 139 (94.6%) of medical students and 140 (95.2%) of pharmaceutical students knew their blood groups. 59.5% of the respondents had donated blood. The commonest motivating factor towards blood donation is "to save a friend or family member". Conclusion: The knowledge of the students regarding blood donation was high but the practice of blood donation was low.

Blood donation practice and its associated factors among health professionals of University of Gondar Hospital, Northwest Ethiopia: a cross sectional study

“…This finding is somewhat similar with the findings of a cross-sectional study conducted among Yazd community in Iran where 38% of the respondents had ever donated blood [12]. However, the result of this study is relatively high as compared to the findings of the studies done in Trinidad and Tobago [13], Dhaka in Bangladesh [14], India [15], and Nigeria [7], where the practice of blood donation among the study participants was 18.8, 16, 10.8, and 15.3% respectively.…”

Nursing students’ knowledge and attitudes of blood donation: A multicentre study

“…These results represent a starting point for reflection on the particular link between knowledge of donation practices and transformation of such practices into donation behaviour. In particular, a greater knowledge does not correspond to a greater expression of behaviour, in agreement with what emerged from the literature on students of health professions (Ahmed et al, ; Amatya et al, ; Mamatya et al, ; Mane & Kolte, ; Nwabueze et al, ; Papagiannis et al, ; Wiwanitkit, ). A possible explanation is that NSs consider the hospital as a “learning context” in which they see themselves in their student or future professional “role” rather than in someone engaged in a volunteering activity.…”

“…A possible explanation for this result may be that, despite students’ theoretical knowledge acquisition about the “donation” as a process, during their years of education, they are not aware of the importance of such practice. There may therefore be a clear lack of passage to donor action, as evidenced by literature on this topic (Ahmed et al, ; Amatya et al, ; Mamatya et al, ; Mane & Kolte, ; Nwabueze et al, ; Papagiannis et al, ; Sabu et al, ), which needs further investigations to better understand its real motivations.…”

“…Some recent researches on this subject focused their attention on medical or healthcare students as a population potentially more proposed to start a donor career; considering that for study and/or for work reasons, they often attend hospitals and places where BD is common practice. The results of these surveys, however, have highlighted how good knowledge of donation does not always translate into donor action (Ahmed, Zafar, Khan, Anjum, & Siddique, ; Amatya, Gorkhali, Mahotra, Prajapati, & Yadav, ; Mamatya, Prajapati, & Yadav, ; Mane & Kolte, ; Nwabueze et al, ; Papagiannis et al, ; Sabu, Remya, Binu, & Vivek, ). Healthcare students, however, donate more frequently than students of other graduate courses (Mamatya et al, ; Sabu et al, ), although the total percentage remains well below the average of other age groups.…”

Knowledge, Attitude, Practice and Associated Factors of Voluntary Blood Donation among Undergraduate Students in Hargeisa University

“…Blood safety is important in enhancing health care and in preventing the spread of infectious disease. Each year blood transfusion helps save many lives, yet three issues remain a major constraint in the developing world: quality, quantity and safety of blood [1].…”