Scholarly Article
KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDES, MOTIVATORS, BARRIERS, AND BLOOD DONATION PRACTICES AMONG MEDICAL AND ALLIED HEALTH SCIENCES STUDENTS IN NORTHERN INDIA: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY
Bansal, Nidhi, Gupta, Anshul, Kaur, Yadwinder, Roychoudhury, Arnav Kr, Kajal, Shiny, Kaur, Ramandeep
2026-09-21 · International Journal of Clinical and Biomedical Research · Sumathi Publications
Abstract
Background: Voluntary non-remunerated blood donation is essential for maintaining a safe and adequate blood supply. Students in medical and allied health programmes represent a potentially important donor population, but favourable attitudes do not necessarily translate into actual donation. Objective: To assess knowledge, attitudes, donation practices, motivating factors, and barriers related to voluntary blood donation among undergraduate medical and allied health sciences students, and to examine variation in responses across academic institutes. Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire-based study was conducted from January to June 2024 at a tertiary-care centre within a private university in northern India. Using convenience sampling, 710 students aged >18 years from medical, dental, paramedical, physiotherapy, nursing, pharmacy and biomedical sciences programmes were included. A self-designed, pretested questionnaire assessed 20 knowledge items, seven motivating factors, one barrier item, two donation-practice items, and seven attitude/perception items. Categorical responses were summarized as frequencies and percentages. Associations between institute and questionnaire responses were examined using Pearson's chi-square test; p<0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Of 710 participants, 400 (56.3%) were women. Awareness of one's own blood group (90.9%) and the concept of voluntary blood donation (90.8%) was high, whereas knowledge of minimum donor weight (44.6%), time required for donation (47.6%), and the effect of high-risk behaviour on eligibility (43.7%) was lower. Only 29.9% rejected the misconception that infection can be acquired while donating blood under routine blood-centre practice. Altruism/social help (83.1%), social-media campaigns (79.9%), token recognition (80.3%), and provision of leave (76.2%) were commonly reported motivators. The leading barriers were fear of weakness or illness after donation (34%), time constraints (20%), and fear of needles (18%). Only 127 students (17.9%) reported having donated blood previously. Positive attitudes were common: 90.7% regarded donation as an honourable act and 83.4% would encourage others to donate, but only 41.1% agreed that they would donate repeatedly. Conclusion: Medical and allied health sciences students demonstrated generally favourable attitudes toward blood donation, but important knowledge gaps and a substantial knowledge-to-practice gap persisted. Institution-specific education, correction of misconceptions, convenient donation opportunities, and donor-retention strategies may help translate willingness into regular voluntary donation. Keywords: Blood donation; Voluntary non-remunerated blood donation; Medical students; Allied health sciences; Knowledge; Attitudes; Barriers; Donor motivation
Keywords
Blood donation, Voluntary non-remunerated blood donation, Medical students, Allied health sciences, Knowledge, Attitudes, Barriers, Donor motivation
Citation Details
International Journal of Clinical and Biomedical Research, Vol. 11, No. 3, pp. 381-389