A study to assess the barriers and facilitators of blood donation among university students of South India

Abstract

INTRODUCTION Donated blood is very crucial and lifesaving for those who require large volumes of blood in any medical emergency. Many blood donation camps are routinely organized to fill this void of demand and supply. In a university campus associated with a hospital, it is important that student volunteers should contribute towards the increase in demand for blood during times of crisis. This makes it imperative to understand their perception of this noble cause. METHODS A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 354 volunteers of a university campus using convenience sampling. The primary outcome was to assess the factors that influence voluntary blood donation among the volunteers. The adjusted association was performed using logistic regression. R Console was used for statistical analysis. Odds ratios and p-value < 0.05 with 95% confidence intervals were calculated to determine the level of significance. RESULTS A total of 354 responses were received and analysed. Among these, 38.98%, (n=138) participants had donated blood at least once. Factors that were significantly associated with blood donation were gender, being a member of an NGO, frequency of volunteering activities, fear of needles, and belief that they would acquire the disease during blood donation. CONCLUSION Most of the participants had good knowledge of blood donation, but their attitude and practice did not fall along the same lines. The study also highlighted that attitude towards donating blood is high among the participants who are associated with the NGOs or participate in voluntary activities. Voluntary work induces a ‘sense of giving something to the society which appears to be facilitating factor and an effective measure to encourage blood donation among youth.