DOI: https://doi.org/10.53350/pjmhs211510130 ORIGINAL ARTICLE 3130 P J M H S Vol. 15, No.10, OCT 2021 An Insight into the Knowledge, Attitude and Practice towards Blood Donation among the Residents of Hyderabad Sindh NAZIA MUMTAZ 1 , SADIA AKBAR 2 , SANA FATEMA 3 , IKRAM DIN UJJAN 4 , KIRAN AAMIR 5 , AAMIR RAMZAN 6 1,2,3 Lecturer in Pathology department LUMHS, Jamshoro 4 Professor, Vice Chancellor, LUMHS, Jamshoro, 5 Assistant Professor in Pathology department LUMHS, Jamshoro 6 Lecturer in Pathology department LUMHS, Jamshoro Correspondence to: Nazia Mumtaz, Email: drnaziahafeez@gmail.com, Cell: 092 3453001262 ABSTRACT Background and Aim: In developing countries with a high prevalence of bleeding disorders, safe and adequate blood supply has persisted as a major challenge. Blood transfusion and donation in Pakistan are based on replacement donor’s primitive practice whereas voluntary donors worldwide replaced replacement donors. The present study objective was to evaluate the blood donor’s knowledge, attitude, and practice towards blood donation to measure their understanding of blood donation. Materials and Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted from November 2020 till June 2021 at the Diagnostic and Research Laboratory, LUMHS Hyderabad. A pre-tested, self-administered survey form was utilized to investigate a total of 350 respondents. Out of the total, 160 were healthcare workers, 90 were medical students, and 100 were general public. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 20. Results: Of the total 350 respondents, the prevalence of blood donors and non-donors were 114 (32.6%) and 236 (67.4%) respectively. Out of 114 blood donors, 87 (76.3%) were male and 27 (23.7%) were female donors. The overall mean age was 37±6.45 years. The prevalence of knowledge, attitude, and practice among health workers was 56%, 64%, and 41% whereas students had 77%, 56%, and 22%, and the general public had 19%, 48%, and 78% respectively. The main reasons for not donating blood were fear of needles or sight of blood, weight loss/gain, lead to anemia, decreased immunity, and no one asked to donate with respective prevalence 11%, 17%, 39%, 21%, and 41%. About 56% of donors donated blood for the first time followed by 37% more than once. Conclusion: The knowledge, attitude, and practice survey concluded that a rational design, voluntary blood donation campaign, targeted strategies, and awareness program could be planned to utilize and increase blood donors on a community level. Keywords: Blood donation, Donors, Knowledge, Attitude, Practice INTRODUCTION In developing countries with a high prevalence of bleeding disorders, safe and adequate blood supply has persisted as a major challenge. Blood transfusion and donation in Pakistan are based on replacement donor’s primitive practice whereas voluntary donors worldwide replaced replacement donors. Thus, identifying motivational factors affecting blood donation and recruitment of safe and low- risk donors is necessary [1, 2]. Blood is one of the vital components of human life [3], and every society must consider the necessity of blood donation or transfusion [4, 5]. Both developing and developed countries are currently facing the challenges of finding consistent donors [6, 7]. About 35% of the population donate blood per year as per World Health Organization statistics [8]. Blood donors are a significant safeguard for the availability, safety, accessibility, and quality of blood. As per WHO guidelines, all the nations should be autonomous in blood donation strategies and every donor should be charitable, non- remunerated, and unidentified. The total number of blood centers present in Pakistan is 1830 [9, 10], where 3.5 million per annum blood collection is estimated [11]. Pakistan is lagging behind in terms of voluntary blood donation practice nowadays. WHO data-based collected estimated that 16.7%population donated blood per 1,000 population where 89% were family relatives and 11% were voluntary blood donors [12]. A system should be organized for voluntary blood donation in order to facilitate mobilization and appropriate strategies for low-risk group’s donor’s identification within the community. The young population has been identified as a key low-risk donor group in countries with similar population pyramids to Pakistan. Additionally, the Transfusion Transmitted Infections (TTIs) prevalence among donor population and blood transfusion services within countries reported that young generations are active and become voluntary due to their education, accessibility, and regular blood donor potential. The current study focused on Knowledge Attitudes and Practices (KAP) of blood donation among Sindh resident population and factors potentially affecting their behavior toward donation. The knowledge, attitude, and practice survey revealed information regarding potential donors' incentives and fallacies, as well as their aptitude, transfusion-related behavior, and awareness. The ultimate goal of the current study was to endorse blood donation over a Public Awareness Campaign (PAC) based on Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices. MATERIAL AND METHODS This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted from November 2020 till June 2021 at the Diagnostic and Research Laboratory, LUMHS Hyderabad. A pre-tested, self-administered survey form was utilized to investigate a total of 350 respondents. Out of the total, 160 were