Practices and Perception of Voluntary Blood Donation Among University Students

Amelia, Mohamad and Madzlifah, Ahadon (2024) Practices and Perception of Voluntary Blood Donation Among University Students. Malaysian Journal of Pathology, 46 (3). p. 480. ISSN 0126-8635

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Abstract

Introduction: Blood donation remains the only source of blood and its components. This study aimed to assess the practices and perception of voluntary blood donation among Year 2 medical students of University Malaysia Sarawak and identified factors that hinder their willingness to donate. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study involved 118 respondents. A self-administered questionnaire was used, and data were recorded and analysed by using SPSS version 22. Results: Only 27.1% of the respondents had donated blood, while 72.9% never donated blood. Of 32 respondents who had donated their blood, 90.6% were on a voluntary basis. Barriers to donation included unfit to donate (37%), fear of needles (27%), not approached to donate (24%), religious restrictions (3%), fear of knowing health status after donation (3%), no remuneration (1%) and fear blood might be sold (1%). The majority of the respondents (92.4%) perceived that blood donation is a good act, 5.1% of respondents considered it a neutral act, while 2.5% perceived it as a bad act. A majority (79.7%) knew that voluntary donation was the best source of blood. Discussion and Conclusion: Despite the good perception towards blood donation, unfortunately, very few respondents had donated blood. Therefore, it is suggested that awareness-raising programs on the importance of voluntary blood donation should be planned and done so that more donors can be recruited and sufficient blood supply can be maintained.

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