Blood Donation and Misconceptions-A Nationwide Survey in Dental Hospitals of Pakistan

Background: Blood donation is a common practice in many countries of the world and it benefits many of the people suffering from conditions which require blood transfusions. The blood donated should be appropriately screened for certain infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis B, Syphilis and Gonorrhea through serological tests. Materials and Methods: This cross sectional study was conducted from January 2014 to August 2014, Data was collected from eight dental hospitals in four provinces of Pakistan. Attendants of the patients admitted in the surgical ward with age more than 16 years were included. Knowledge and practices of the participants were evaluated through a selfadministered questionnaire .Ethical consent was obtained from the ethical committee or concerned authority of all eight hospitals. Results: Response rate was 84 %. In total 55% male and 45 % female participated with 15.5% of the total sample population was under the age of 20 years. The age group with the maximum number of participant was between 20 to 39 years of age. 26% and 22.5% of the males and female participants respectively had knowledge . About blood donation, lesser percentage of attendants, 7.2% of the males and 4.6% declared that they had donated blood in the past. Based on education levels, it was highest among graduates (3.5%) and less in primary educated (2.2%) and uneducated respondents was 0.7%. 18% of the males and 17% females asserted that they hold some kind of fear of blood donation. Conclusion: The population is not adequately knowledgeable regarding blood donation. There is a need for proper campaign to educate masses at national level within Pakistan to promote more people to become regular volunteers. J O U R N A L O F H E M A T O L O G Y A N D O N C O L O G Y R E S E A R C H ISSN NO: 2372-6601


Introduction:
Blood donation is a process in which a person volunteers to have their blood withdrawn so that it can be transfused to someone in need. It is a common practice to give blood transfusions during surgical procedures or to people who have undergone massive trauma/blood loss [1]. It is also vital for people who have blood disorders like thalassemia, which is prevalent in many regions of the world and it is fair to say that blood transfusions are life-saving for such patients [1].
Components of blood like platelets, plasma and immunoglobulin are also obtained through centrifugation and given to patients with blood disorders and immune deficiency [2], [3], [4].
Due to the constant need, millions of units of blood are collected each day [5] and are transfused to millions of patients annually [6]. Majority of this blood in developing countries is collected from voluntary/nonremunerative donors; donors who give blood regularly.
These are the safest among all types of blood donors with the least risk of transmitting transfusion induced infections [7]. The majority of donors in low income countries however are replacement donors; donors who give blood to a family member or a friend. Highest risk of transmitting transfusion induced infections is seen in paid donors and so the practice is generally not only discouraged but is also illegal in many countries. The number of voluntary donors is very low in Pakistan ( being a low income country) and whenever there is a calamity or an incident; blood banks run out of blood. This survey aimed to explore the reasons and trends of blood donation and to find out the prevalent misconceptions which keep people from donating blood.

Material and Methods
This cross sectional study was conducted at conveniently selected eight tertiary care hospitals in Pakistan. Four hospitals were public while, four were in private sector. Two hospitals were selected from each province of Pakistan (Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Baluchistan). The participants were briefed regarding the nature of the study and were provided information about blood donations after filling up the questionnaire by a specialist. They were also provided the opportunity to ask any questions regarding the issue.
The data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Software (SPSS) version 17.

Results
Response rate was 84%.  and as a result some had also suffered trauma [13].
Another study suggested syncope reaction percentage of 1.43% [14]. Fear of fainting is common in general population even though the chances of it happening are comparatively very low.
Some people report to have fear of needles due to which they prefer not to donate blood. However another misconception which was encountered by the respondents was the concern of acquiring HIV and

Conclusion:
A lot of work needs to be done to raise awareness among the common population to increase the number of voluntary blood donors. This can be accomplished by involving the youth by carrying out regular blood drives in colleges and universities with the aim to not only increase the number of voluntary blood donors but also to remove prevalent misconceptions which generally discourage people from donating blood.
Electronic and social media can be used to do the same and might just be the impetus needed to encourage more people for this good cause. Government organizations should also be established with the aim to increase awareness in rural and urban areas. Incentives like free blood screening can be advertised to encourage more people.