Study on Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Blood Donation among College Students in Bhavnagar, Gujarat, India -

Introduction: World Health Organization (WHO) advocates that ideally 3-5% of the population should donate blood per year for maintaining a country’s demand. According to WHO’s integral strategy for safe transfusion, Youths who are healthy, enthusiastic and approachable as a group, if recruited young may become future donors and motivators? Aim & Objectives: To assess the level of KAP regarding blood donation in college students in Bhavnagar, Gujarat, India. Material and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 268 students of 18-25 years of age from different colleges of Bhavnagar. Selfadministered Questionnaires was used to collect data from cases selected by cluster sampling. Results: Out of total 268 students, female students were more numbered than males. Only 12.32% had donated blood previously, most of them were voluntary donors. The most common reason for no donation was the lack of arousal of situation for donation. Most of them were aware about the criteria for age, weight, Hb needed for donation. But majority lack knowledge about the amount of blood being drawn while donation. Conclusion: Major obstacle for voluntary blood donors was the lack of arousal of situation for donation. To overcome that and to improve donation rates, Students must be educated and counseled properly. By increasing the awareness about voluntary donation, a blood bank can improve the number of voluntary donors. Key-words: Blood donation, Hemoglobin, KAP study, Students Key Message: We need to arouse college students to donate blood by providing them with a conducive environment through organization of voluntary blood donation drives and awareness campaigns. 1 Associate Professor, 2 Assistant Professor, Resident, 4 Former Head of Department Department of Pathology, Govt. Medical College, Bhavnagar Corresponding author mail: drphshah73@yahoo.com Conflict of interest: NIL ___________________________________________________________________________ Original Article Study on Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Blood Donation among College Students in Bhavnagar, Gujarat, India Dr.Pragnesh Shah et al. 2015 SEAJCRR MAY-JUNE 4(3) ISSN ONLINE: 2319-1090 Page 1658 INTRODUCTION Blood donation is a self-directed volunteer service and this study finds the present situation of knowledge, attitude and practice related to donation. People are the future source of blood and they may have knowledge and awareness about donation but there is lack of regular donation practice among youngster. Regular donor in 18-25 age group is very less so it is very important to sensitize these people for regular donation. Aim of the study is to assess the level of knowledge, attitude and practice regarding blood donation in college students in Bhavnagar, Gujarat, India. MATERIALS AND METHOD The research design was descriptive. It involved both qualitative and quantitative method. The sampling method was probability sampling method with cluster sampling technique based on EPI cluster method. The study unit was the bachelor level students of non-medical field aged 18 to 25 of different colleges of Bhavnagar after motivational lectures for blood donation in their colleges. Self-administrative questionnaire was used as a data collection technique. Data recording, tabulation, analysis, and graphs were done by using the programs Microsoft Excel 2007 and SPSS 11.5 for Windows. The ethical consideration was taken by verbal consent of respondents. The main limitation/constraints of this study are time, money, materials and resource. RESULTS Out of total 268 students, female students were more numbered than males. Practice: Total Participation: Original Article Study on Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Blood Donation among College Students in Bhavnagar, Gujarat, India Dr.Pragnesh Shah et al. 2015 SEAJCRR MAY-JUNE 4(3) ISSN ONLINE: 2319-1090 Page 1659 Education: