Bridging the gap between knowledge and barriers: evaluating healthcare professionals' perspectives on hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

Abstract

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is an essential treatment for various malignant and non-malignant hematological disorders. Healthcare professionals play a vital role in this process through their attitudes toward donation and their support of patients and their relatives in the decision-making process. This study was performed to examine the correlation between the knowledge and attitudes of healthcare professionals regarding HSC donation. A cross-sectional survey was conducted between September 2025 and January 2026 after ethical approval was obtained from the Council of the Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences in Rabigh at King Abdulaziz University. Data were collected via online surveys administered to medical students and healthcare professionals in both government and private tertiary hospitals. Of the 507 validated respondents, 44.8% expressed willingness to donate HSCs, whereas 55.2% indicated unwillingness. Participants willing to donate had higher knowledge scores (mean = 75.7%) and attitude scores (mean = 3.12) than those who were unwilling. A strong association was observed between higher knowledge, direct clinical exposure to HSCT, and completion of formal training (p < 0.05). The main barriers to HSC donation were time commitment, lack of knowledge, and fear of the process, with mean scores of 3.88, 3.80, and 3.79, respectively. Knowledge is an important factor but is not sufficient on its own to motivate donation. The findings indicate that direct clinical exposure and targeted educational training play a key role in fostering positive attitudes by addressing concerns related to time commitment and fear of the donation process.