Knowledge, attitude and practice study about blood donation in the urban population of Yazd, Iran, 2004

The most important aim of all blood transfusion centres is to recruit blood donors from low-risk groups of society to donate blood voluntarily and regularly to have a safe and continuous blood supply. The aim of this study was to assess the level of knowledge, attitude and practice regarding blood donation in the city of Yazd, Iran. In this cross-sectional study, 1394 cases aged between 20 and 60 years were selected by clustering sampling method and asked to fill a specially formatted questionnaire. Data were analysed by analysis of variance, Sheffe test and t-test. Less than half of the population under study was aware about the appropriate age for blood donation and certain deferral criteria. Only 98% of them believed that blood donation is a moral duty with a spiritual reward and 38% of the population under study (60% of men and 16% of women) had donated blood at least once in the past. There was a direct relationship between knowledge and performance (P = 0.000). Women and young people had the least levels of knowledge and performance. Although the attitude level of women was high, their performance level was very low. Increase in the level of knowledge of women and young should be the topmost priority. Barriers to donation of blood by women who comprise half of the population should be studied and evaluated, and steps must be taken to remove or decrease them as far as possible. Advertisements should be with the aim of increasing the level of awareness of the general population regarding specific factors of blood donation and keeping fresh the idea of regular voluntary blood donations in their minds.