Knowledge and Attitude of Malaysian Public Towards Blood Donation During COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: This study aimed to determine the knowledge and attitude of the Malaysian public towards blood donation during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Method: This cross-sectional study utilised an online questionnaire to survey 409 Malaysians between 18 to 60 years old who were non-healthcare workers recruited via convenient snowball sampling. Data were analysed descriptively and via multiple logistic regression.

Results: About half (49.2%) of the participants have good knowledge of blood donation while 71.2% of them reported a positive attitude. Gender and blood donation experience were significantly associated with knowledge of blood donation. However, only gender was associated with attitude concerning blood donation. Gender, age, income and donation experience were significantly related to the perception of blood need. No factor was identified as significantly associated with the perception of blood donation risk. The majority of the participants quoted the main reason for blood donation as to save lives.

Conclusion: Most of the participants in this study showed a good knowledge and positive attitude towards blood donation. Gender, age, income and donation experience were the main associated factors. Based on these findings, future recruitment approaches for blood donors should target these identified groups, whereas promotional campaigns should be held among populations with poorer knowledge and attitudes towards blood donation, i.e., males, non-donors, younger populations and those with lower income.