Background and Aim: Blood scarcity is a common problem in hospitals and is caused by an imbalance between the rising demand for safe blood and blood products on the one hand and the failure to organize regular blood supply as a result of misconceptions, perceived harms and risks, and a lack of motivation among potential donors. Determining students’ knowledge, attitudes, and practices about voluntary blood donation was the goal of the study.
Material and Methods: The study, which lasted a year, involved undergraduate medical students from the Department of Pathology, GMERS MEDICAL College and Hospital, Dharpur, Patan, Gujarat. A semi-structured questionnaire was prepared by referring to various published articles and was validated by concern experts. The questionnaire was further refined by doing a pilot study among students. The first section of the four-part questionnaire asks about participants’ fundamental characteristics. In the second section, 14 multiple-choice and yes-or-no questions were used to gauge students’ knowledge levels. While there were three practice questions provided as yes/no and multiple-choice questions, there were six questions to gauge attitude in the third and fourth sections. Participants’ responses were evaluated, with >50% being deemed to have high knowledge and 50% having low knowledge.
Results: The majority of participants (93.12%) had heard of blood donation and 96.4% were aware of its significance. Less than 50% of study participants were unaware of the quantity and duration of blood donations. Of the total respondents, 98.11% believed that giving blood saves lives, 96.9% thought it was a good habit, 89.11% thought voluntary blood donation was the best way to get safe blood, and 89.9% and 88.9% said they would be willing to give blood in the future and encourage their family members to do the same. Compared to male students, female students were 43% less likely to donate blood.
Conclusion: The study subjects had good knowledge and a good attitude towards blood donation. Although it is still uncommon, particularly among girls, for students to donate blood, this is true. This demonstrates the need for ongoing instructional and inspirational programmes to promote student blood donation on a voluntary basis.
