Exploring Blood Donation: Perspectives among Undergraduate Students in Peshawar, Pakistan: Blood Donation Perceptions in Peshawar Undergraduates

Salman Zahir; Khansa Khan; Muhammad Atif; Wisal Khan; Haseeb Khan; Imad Khan; Somia Mazhar; Jamal Shah

doi:10.54393/pbmj.v7i04.1068

Authors

Salman Zahir Department of Medicine and Surgery, Northwest General Hospital and Research Center, Peshawar, Pakistan
Khansa Khan Department of Medicine and Surgery, Northwest School of Medicine, Peshawar, Pakistan
Muhammad Atif Department of Medicine and Surgery, Northwest School of Medicine, Peshawar, Pakistan
Wisal Khan Department of Medicine and Surgery, Northwest School of Medicine, Peshawar, Pakistan
Haseeb Khan Department of Medicine and Surgery, Northwest School of Medicine, Peshawar, Pakistan
Imad Khan Department of Medicine and Surgery, Northwest School of Medicine, Peshawar, Pakistan
Somia Mazhar Department of Biomedical Sciences, National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Islamabad, Pakistan
Jamal Shah Department of Medicine and Surgery, Northwest General Hospital and Research Center, Peshawar, Pakistan

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.54393/pbmj.v7i04.1068

Keywords:

Blood Donation, Public Health, Blood Groups

Abstract

To improve voluntary donation and public health in the face of Pakistan's shifting regulations and challenges, it is crucial to comprehend the blood donation patterns of undergraduate students in Peshawar. Objective: To compare and assess undergraduate students in medical, allied health sciences, and non-medical fields in Peshawar, Pakistan, on their knowledge, attitudes, barriers to, and motivations for, blood donation. Methods: An eight-month observational cross-sectional study with 1232 undergraduate students from various academic fields was conducted. Participants were assessed through a comprehensive questionnaire regarding blood donation. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 27.0, employing descriptive statistics and the chi-square test. Results: The study enrolled 1232 undergraduate students, with 65.2% male and 34.6% female participants. Among them, 82.3% were aware of their blood group. While 24.74% exhibited poor knowledge about blood donation, 62.98% demonstrated moderate knowledge, and 12.29% had good knowledge. Additionally, 39.9% had never donated blood, but 83.9% expressed willingness to donate in the future. Fear of needles (13.90%), fear of infection (13.20%), and medical unfitness (13.10%) were significant barriers, while motivations included saving lives (22.20%), helping friends and family (19.40%), and moral obligation (14.80%). Conclusions: The study concluded that undergraduate students in Peshawar possess a moderate level of understanding regarding blood donation, with medical students showing higher knowledge levels. Despite variations across disciplines, positive attitudes towards donation were common, indicating potential for increased voluntary donation

References

Waheed U, Azmat M, Zaheer HA. Knowledge, attitude and practices towards blood donation in Pakistan: a nationwide survey. Hematology and Transfusion International Journal. 2015 Oct; 1(4): 00018. doi: 10.15406/htij.2015.01.00018. DOI: https://doi.org/10.15406/htij.2015.01.00018

Faqah A, Moiz B, Shahid F, Ibrahim M, Raheem A. Assessment of blood donation intention among medical students in Pakistan-An application of theory of planned behavior. Transfusion and Apheresis Science. 2015 Dec; 53(3): 353-9. doi: 10.1016/j.transci.2015.07.003. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.transci.2015.07.003

Mumtaz Z, Bowen S, Mumtaz R. Meanings of blood, bleeding and blood donations in Pakistan: implications for national vs global safe blood supply policies. Health Policy and Planning. 2012 Mar; 27(2): 147-55. doi: 10.1093/heapol/czr016. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/heapol/czr016

Ahmed M, Saeed M, Waheed U, Mujtaba A, Hanif A, Khalid A et al. Perception of blood donation among pakistani youth. Pakistan Armed Forces Medical Journal. 2020 Oct; 70(5): 1360-65.

Tagny CT, Diarra A, Yahaya R, Hakizimana M, Nguessan A, Mbensa G et al. Characteristics of blood donors and donated blood in sub‐Saharan Francophone Africa. Transfusion. 2009 Aug; 49(8): 1592-9. doi: 10.1111/j.1537-2995.2009.02137.x. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1537-2995.2009.02137.x

Kowsalya V, Vijayakumar R, Chidambaram R, Srikumar R, Reddy EP, Latha S et al. A study on knowledge, attitude and practice regarding voluntary blood donation among medical students in Puducherry, India. Pakistan journal of biological sciences: Pakistan Journal of Biological Sciences. 2013 May; 16(9): 439-42. doi: 10.3923/pjbs.2013.439.442. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3923/pjbs.2013.439.442

Baig M, Habib H, Haji AH, Alsharief FT, Noor AM, Makki RG et al. Knowledge, misconceptions and motivations towards blood donation among university students in KSA. Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences. 2013 Nov; 29(6): 1295. doi: 10.12669/pjms.296.4137. DOI: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.296.4137

Bukhari N, Sharif N, Ali A, Majid A, Rehman WU. Understanding the modern sociology of blood donation, a retrospective study of voluntary blood donors belonging to district Attock Punjab, Pakistan. Journal of University Medical & Dental College. 2022 Aug; 13(3): 417-21.

Mecha A and Erchafo B. Blood donation intentions and predictors among Hosanna town dwellers, south nation nationality peoples region, Ethiopia. Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care. 2022 Sep; 11(9): 5320-6. doi: 10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_1287_21. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_1287_21

Ahmed Z, Zafar M, Khan AA, Anjum MU, Siddiqui MA. Knowledge, attitude and practices about blood donation among undergraduate medical students in Karachi. Journal of Infectious Diseases and Therapy. 2014 Mar. doi: 10.4172/2332-0877.1000134. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4172/2332-0877.1000134

Salma N. Perceptions of blood donation among the students of Jahangirnagar University, Bangladesh. Asian Journal of Medical and Biological Research. 2021 Dec, 7(4), 339-347. doi: 10.3329/ajmbr.v7i4.57614. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3329/ajmbr.v7i4.57614

Tariq S and Jawed S. Knowledge and attitude of blood donation among female medical students in Faisalabad. The Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association. 2018 Jan; 68(1): 65-70.

Ugwu NI, Oti WJ, Ugwu CN, Uneke CJ. Voluntary non-remunerated blood donation: Awareness, perception, and attitude among potential blood donors in Abakaliki, Nigeria. Nigerian Journal of Clinical Practice. 2019 Nov; 22(11): 1509-15. doi: 10.4103/njcp.njcp_159_19. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4103/njcp.njcp_159_19

Japar S, Yahya NA, Raman RA, Sani AM, Halain AA, Geok K et al. Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Blood Donation among Undergraduate Students in a Public University, Malaysia. Research Journal of Pharmacy and Technology. 2018; 11(8): 3478-82. doi: 10.5958/0974-360X.2018.00642.X. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5958/0974-360X.2018.00642.X

Chauhan R, Kumar R, Thakur S. A study to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practices about blood donation among medical students of a medical college in North India. Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care. 2018 Jul; 7(4): 693-7. doi: 10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_54_17. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_54_17

Ossai EN, Eze NC, Chukwu O, Uguru UA, Ukpai EC, Ihere E et al. Determinants of practice of blood donation among undergraduate students of Ebonyi State University Abakaliki, Southeast Nigeria. Arch Community Med Public Health. 2018 Jan; 4(1): 001-7. doi: 10.17352/2455-5479.000032. DOI: https://doi.org/10.17352/2455-5479.000032

Alsalmi MA, Almalki HM, Alghamdi AA, Aljasir BA. Knowledge, attitude and practice of blood donation among health professions students in Saudi Arabia; A cross-sectional study. Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care. 2019 Jul; 8(7): 2322-7. doi: 10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_415_19. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_415_19

Al-Asadi JN and Al-Yassen AQ. Knowledge, attitude and practice of blood donation among university students in Basrah, Iraq: a comparison between medical and non-medical students. Asian Journal of Medical Sciences. 2018 Oct; 9(6): 62-7. doi: 10.3126/ajms.v9i6.20904. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3126/ajms.v9i6.20904

Eshak ES, Ghazawy ER, Abd-El Rahman TA, Hafez SM. Crossing the wide gap between positive attitude towards blood donation and its poor practice among university students: can knowledge and demographic characteristics help? Journal of Public Health. 2019 Jun; 27: 329-37. doi: 10.1007/s10389-018-0954-0. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-018-0954-0

Cicolini G, Comparcini D, Alfieri S, Zito E, Marta E, Tomietto M et al. Nursing students' knowledge and attitudes of blood donation: A multicentre study. Journal of Clinical Nursing. 2019 May; 28(9-10): 1829-38. doi: 10.1111/jocn.14792. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.14792