Assessment of knowledge, attitude, practice and associated factors towards voluntary blood donation among adults in Bahir Dar city, North West Ethiopia

Abstract

Introduction: In low income countries more than 50% of blood donations are made by replacement and paid donors, many people in these countries are faced with lack of knowledge, misperceptions and fears about the blood donation process, which result in a limited number of voluntary non-remunerated regular blood donors. Such countries are challenged to find creative recruitment methods to combat misconceptions about blood donation and to motivate the public to donate. The median whole blood donations in low income countries were reported as 2.8 (0.4-8.2) per 1000 population which is very low comparing with 36.4 donation in developed countries. In Ethiopia, it is less than five donations per 1000 population.