Knowledge, attitude and practice toward organ and blood donation among military population of Tabuk city, KSA

Abstract

Background: Organ donation is lifesaving procedure inpatients with end-stage organ failure. Objective: To evaluate the knowledge, attitudes and practice of the Military population in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia toward organ and blood donation. Methodology: This was a cross-sectional study conducted among the military population in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. Participants completed a self -administrated questionnaire concerning blood and organ donation. Results: Among the participants, 58.3% had never donated blood, 13.9% had once, 11.1% twice and 1.9% many times. The following justifications for not donating blood were given; 19.4% of people express an unnamed dread of doing so, 15.7% of people are not aware of blood donation sites, 23.1% of people live in places remote from donation facilities, 34.3% do not have the free time and 19.4% of respondents worry about cleaning the equipment. Concerning the motivation; 96.3% of participants reported helping sick family or friends was their main motivation for giving blood. For 73.1% of the subjects, organ donation is important and 66.7% of the surveyed contributors think Islam supports organ transplantation but only 63% were aware of the Saudi Center for Organ donation. The majority (59.3%) of respondents want to donate their organs after death. Conclusion: The Saudi population had an uncertain understanding, attitude and practice of organ and blood donation. Future community-based studies should be carried out to ascertain what extra factors might affect someone's willingness to give blood and organs.