article · Tanzania Medical Journal
Safe blood supplies remain insufficient across sub-Saharan Africa, where medical doctors could potentially serve as reliable donors and advocates. A cross-sectional survey of 140 doctors at Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences in Tanzania evaluated their blood donation knowledge, attitudes, and personal practices. Participants generally understood common blood types and widely recognised HIV and hepatitis B as transfusion-transmitted infections, although awareness of malaria and syphilis transmission was notably lower. Detailed procedural details, such as collection volumes and recommended frequencies, were also not widely known. While 95 percent of respondents held positive attitudes toward blood donation and roughly half had donated at least once in their lives, only 2.9 percent were regular donors. The main barriers cited by non-donors included perceived medical unfitness and simply never being asked to donate.
Blood shortages present a major challenge for healthcare systems in sub-Saharan Africa. Medical doctors understand the necessity of transfusions and can influence public health behaviours, yet very few donate regularly. Pinpointing gaps in their knowledge and identifying basic logistical barriers, such as lack of direct recruitment, can guide better hospital-based blood collection campaigns and improve local blood banking reserves.
The abstract does not indicate an application pathway, as it focuses on an observational behavioural assessment rather than a commercial product or service.
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Background: In sub-Saharan Africa, the demand for safe blood and blood products exceeds the available supply. Doctors have the potential to become a donor pool that provides regular supply of safe blood and play a positive role in promoting blood donation at the community level. Broad objective: This study aimed to determine the knowledge, attitude and practice of blood donation among medical doctors at Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS). Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted from June 2022 to August 2022. The study was conducted at MUHAS, a public university in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Using multistage cluster sampling, 140 doctors were recruited. Data collection was done using a well-structured self-administered questionnaire; data on sociodemographic characteristics, knowledge, attitude, and blood donation practice was obtained. Knowledge was assessed using six questions, attitude using five questions, and blood donation practice using six questions. Descriptive statistics were generated using SPSS version 20. Results: The median age group of respondents was 30 – 39 years. The male-to-female ratio was 2:1. Most respondents had knowledge about the common blood groups (95%), knowledge of transfusion-transmitted Infections (TTIs) was varied i.e., HIV was known to be a TTI by 95%, HBV by 89.3%, HCV by 75%, Malaria by 40.7% and Syphilis by 56.4% and many respondents were not knowledgeable about the specifics of the donation process including the amount of blood drawn (40%) and the recommended frequency of donation (52.1%). The calculated average of correct responses for knowledge of blood donation was 73.2%. Overall, the attitude towards blood donation was positive (95%), and about half of the study participants reported to have donated blood in their lifetime. However, only 2.9% were regular blood donors. Apart from the self-reported claim of being unfit to donate (24.3%), not being approached to donate was the second most common reason given by the non-donors (18.6%). Conclusion: Our study highlights a discrepancy between having good knowledge and positive attitude towards blood donation, and the actual practice of regular blood donation among medical doctors. Recommendation: We recommend directing efforts toward understanding of barriers to regular blood donation among doctors and developing strategies to increase donor retention.
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DOI: 10.4314/h4dw8c49
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