Perceptions of Voluntary Blood Donation among the Youth in La Dadekotopon

Abstract

All over the world voluntary blood donation is hailed to be a safe source of blood supply and the window of hope for those who need blood transfusion. The main objective of this study was to examine the perceptions of voluntary blood donation among the youth in La Dadekotopon. The study also sought to determine the knowledge of the youth about voluntary blood donation, examine the attitude of the youth towards voluntary blood donation and to identify factors that influence the youth to engage in voluntary blood donation. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data from respondents. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 21. Descriptive statistics and Chi-square analysis were run to establish relationships between independent and the dependent variables. The study found that there was low level of knowledge on voluntary blood donation (46.4%) while respondents' attitude towards blood donation was good (72.31%). However, only a few (12%) respondents had actually donated blood voluntarily. Respondents reported factors such as; pro-social motivation, perceived need for blood, personal values and convenience to donation site as motivating factors to donate blood. On the other hand, factors such as; not having enough blood, lack of confidence in one’s self and fear of the unknown were the major deterrents reported. In conclusion, it was realized that even though blood donation was perceived by many of the respondents to be good, positive attitude alone without appropriate knowledge may not lead actual voluntary blood donation among our study participants.