Study to Assess the Knowledge, Attitude and Practices of Blood Donation among Students of Gandhi Medical College and TIT Engineering College, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India

Background: The WHO theme for World Blood Donor Day 2011 was “More blood More life”. This theme reinforced the urgent need for more people all over the world to become life-savers by volunteering to donate blood regularly. Blood can save millions of lives. The requirement of blood and blood products in a country depends on the population, health care structure, prevalence of conditions requiring regular transfusions, such as hemophilia and thalassemia etc. Aim: To assess and improve the knowledge attitude and practice of blood donation among undergraduate college students of GMC & TIT Engineering College Bhopal. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted for a period of 6 months from July 2017 to December 2017 among 500 college students of GMC & TIT Engineering College, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India using convenience sampling, where blood donation camps were to be held. Data was collected through self-administered questionnaires and analyzed by Epi info-7 software. Results: The overall knowledge on blood donation among total respondents was increased from 28.9% to 52.6%. In our sample size of 500 after making them aware regarding blood donation and its benefits 193 respondents gave consent and showed positive attitude towards donation. Most common reason for donating blood was a sense of social responsibility and most common reason of non-donation was fear of the procedure. An 85% of the students were of the view that they would donate blood if asked. Students suggested that small incentives like certificates and arranging transport for blood donation would make it easier to donate. Conclusion: After assessment of all 500 individuals we came to the conclusion that awareness and knowledge among students and individuals was increased from 28.9% to 52.7%. And after encouraging all individuals for donation and keeping a target of 100 unit’s collection, we were able to collect 193 units in the course of our project.