Knowledge, attitudes and practices on voluntary blood donation among final year undergraduates in the Faculty of Law, University of Colombo

Abstract

Background: Voluntary blood donation is essential to ensure the adequate availability of blood for transfusion in healthcare institutions. There should be sufficient knowledge, positive attitudes and good practices among voluntary blood donors to keep up regular blood donations. This study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding voluntary blood donation among final year undergraduates in the Faculty of Law, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka.Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 156 final year law undergraduates in the University of Colombo. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data. A descriptive analysis and chisquare test were used in data analysis.Results: Majority of the participants had good knowledge (64.1%) but poor attitude (82.7%) regarding blood donation. Only 16% had donated blood previously, out of which only 2% had donated blood more than once per year. The reasons stated for not donating blood included being unfit to donate (22.7%), fear of needles (20.2%), not being approached to donate (16.6%) and needing to donate for friends or relatives in the future (7.4%). There was no statistically significant association between knowledge, attitudes and practices of voluntary blood donation (p<0.05).Conclusion: In spite of having good knowledge, majority of the participants had poor attitudes towards blood donations, which most likely led to poor blood donating practices. To increase the practice of voluntary blood donation among university undergraduates, there should be awareness programmes to promote positive attitudes and eradicate misconceptions regarding blood donation.