Tinju James1 , Richard Sunny2
BACKGROUND Blood donation can save many lives as blood can’t be substituted by any other thing else. The need of blood donation is an emerging necessity in the present health care system. It is important to ensure the safety as well as quality of blood transfusion to save lives and prevent the spread of infectious diseases globally. Hence, there is a need for well-co-ordinated blood transfusion service, proper screening tests for transmittable diseases and collection of blood from voluntary and non-remunerable blood donors. As medical students can communicate with the public regarding the necessity and importance of blood donation, proper education should be given to them regarding the same. The present study aimed to evaluate the knowledge, attitude, and practices associated with voluntary blood donation among medical students. METHODS A cross-sectional study was conducted among 153 undergraduate medical students after getting their informed consent. A self-administered structured questionnaire was used to collect data on knowledge, attitude and practice regarding voluntary blood donation. RESULTS The overall prevalence of knowledge, attitude and practice regarding voluntary blood donation among this population was 91.5%, 86.3% and 61.6% respectively. This study showed that though there is good knowledge and attitude about voluntary blood donation among medical students, practice of the same was comparatively low. CONCLUSIONS Conducting awareness program on the need of blood donation can enhance the practice of the same among medical students.
