Blood donation among Al-Ahsa population in Saudi Arabia: Attitudes, practice and obstacles

Abstract

The present study was carried out to assess the practice of blood donation among different demographic groups of Al-Ahsa population and to understand the obstacles that hinder people from blood donation. A cross sectional study was employed with data collected using a structured web-based questionnaire. The results showed majority (631; 56.1%) of the participants were non donors. Donors were classified into two groups; 115(28.8%) of donors who donated for the first time, 284(71.2%) of donors have donated more than one time. Males were more willing to donate in comparison to females (p value=0.00) OR=11.5(95% CI, 7.82-16.9). Those who were above age of 34 were more likely to donate than those below the age of 34 (p value = 0.00) OR= 2.27 (95% CI, 1.73-2.99). The majority (196; 31%) of the non-donors mentioned that they did not have reasons for not donating. Majority (387; 62.1%) of non-donors would donate if the need for blood donation was for someone they care about. Regarding this present study, blood donation is low, further effective strategies such as media and changing work time of blood banks could improve blood donation in Alahsa.

Keywords: Blood donation, attitude, Alahsa, Saudi Arabia, practice, obstacles.