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Vox Sanguinis (2002) 83, 97–99

© 2002 Blackwell Science
ORIGINAL PAPER

Knowledge about blood donation among a sample of

Blackwell Science, Ltd

Thai university students

V. Wiwanitkit
Department of Laboratory Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand

Received: 1 October 2001,
accepted 23 May 2002
Background and Objectives Blood banks in Thailand use only a voluntary donation
system. Although this has been established for many years, the quantity of blood is still
insufficient. Knowledge about blood donation and attitudes toward it are inadequate,
especially in rural areas. The registry data of the National Blood Centre, Thai Red
Cross Society, indicate that most voluntary blood donors are university students. The
present study was therefore conducted among the students of Chulalongkorn University
to assess their knowledge of voluntary, non-remunerated blood donation.
Materials and Methods Four hundred students participated in this study. A self-
administered questionnaire and face-to-face interview on various aspects of blood
donation were used for data collection.
Results Although most participants (80%) knew about blood donation, only 11% (44
subjects) had ever donated blood voluntarily. We found no significant correlation
between demographic data (gender, age, educational level of subjects studied) and
such knowledge or actual blood donation. Among the non-donor respondents, fear
(305 cases) was the most common reason for not donating blood.
Conclusions Greater knowledge about blood donation does not lead to donation.
Therefore, specific campaigns are needed to convert this into actual voluntary donation.
Key words: blood donation, knowledge, student, Thailand, university.

must assess information and attitudes in their communities

Introduction
At present, only a voluntary system exists for blood collection
in Thailand. Although blood banks have been in existence for
many years, the blood supply is still insufficient. People,
especially in the rural areas, have little knowledge of, and
misguided attitudes towards, blood donation [1]. Most
believe that blood donation is harmful, and that human
immunodeficiency virus (HIV) may be transmitted to donors.
In a previous study, less than half of the subjects were found
to have a positive attitude towards blood donation [1]. Such
notions reflect people’s perceptions. The donation rate may
be increased by modifying counter-motivations. Blood banks
and address any deficiencies effectively.
Registry data of the National Blood Center, Thai Red Cross
Society, show that most voluntary blood donors are university
students. Furthermore, the incidence of blood-borne pathogens
in blood donated by university students is lower than in that
of other groups, so this population provides safer blood for
recipients. For this reason, a survey of the knowledge of these
students about blood donation can provide useful data for the
promotion of donation strategies.
This study was conducted among the students of
Chulalongkorn University, Thailand, to assess their attitudes
towards voluntary, non-remunerated blood donation.

Materials and methods

Correspondence: V. Wiwanitkit, MD, Department of Laboratory Medicine, This was a pilot study conducted at Chulalongkorn University,
Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand the oldest university in Bangkok, Thailand. Four-hundred
E-mail: wviroj@pioneer.netserv.chula.ac.th university students, who attended the Primary Health Care

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98 V. Wiwanitkit

Unit, Division of Student Affairs, between January 2000 and
December 2000, participated. A self-administered question-
naire and face-to-face interview on various aspects of blood
donation were used for data collection.
The questionnaire was prepared after review of the literature
on blood donation, referring also to a practical textbook for
blood banking issued by the National Blood Bank, Thai Red
Cross Society [2]. Questions reflected misinformation known to
be prevalent among Thais [2]. The structure of the questionnaire
was the same as that of our previous study [1]. Testing by the
Kuder-Richardson method indicated a reliability of 0·73 [1,3].
Briefly, the questionnaire contained 10 true-or-false
questions (Table 1). One point was awarded for each correct
answer and zero for each incorrect answer [1,3]. The total
score per subject was calculated as a percentage and graded
as follows by using the modification evaluation criteria for
knowledge of the Thai Ministry of Education: good, ≥ 80%;
fair, 50–79%; poor < 50%, as described in our previous study
[1]. In further interviews, all subjects were asked if they had
ever donated blood, and why or why not. Descriptive statistical
analysis was applied as appropriate. The χ2-test at a level of
significance of 0·05 was used as a test for independence.
Results
Four-hundred subjects (216 men, 184 women, mean age
18·7 years) were included in the survey. The response rate
Table 1 The questionnaire used in this studya
In your opinion, select true (agree) and false (disagree) with these questions:
1. Blood donation can cause weight gain
2. Blood donation can cause weight loss
3. Blood donation can cause infertility
4. Blood donation can cause HIV infection
5. Blood donation can cause hepatitis infection
6. Blood donation can cause blood dyscrasia
7. Blood donation can cause severe fatigue
8. Blood donation can cause cosmetic change
9. Blood donation can cause neurosis
10. Blood bank will sell blood to the patients
a
The questionnaire was the same as that used in the previous study reported
in ref. [1]. For each question the answer is classified and scored as correct if
the subject replies ‘false’. In order to reduce the bias according to the nature
of the Thais who usually reply ‘yes’ to any question, no correct answer is set
in the event that the subject replies ‘true’ [3].
was 100%. Eighty per cent of individuals had an overall good
knowledge, 11% fair, and 9% poor. There was no significant
correlation between demographic data (gender, age, educa-
tional level of subjects studied) of the students and the level
of knowledge regarding blood donation (χ2-test, P > 0·05)
(Table 2). Only 11% of the respondents (44 subjects) had ever
donated blood voluntarily. Most gave no reason for this
(Table 3). We found no significant correlation between blood

Table 2 Knowledge of the subjects in this study

Level of knowledge

Good Fair Poor

(n = 320; 80%) (n = 44; 11%) (n = 36; 9%)

Gender
Male (n = 216; 54%) 172 24 20
Female (n = 84; 46%) 148 20 16
Age
15–20 years (n = 268; 67%) 216 30 22
20–25 years (n = 80; 20%) 60 10 10
≥ 25 years (n = 52; 13%) 44 4 4
Educational level
First-year student (n = 108; 27%) 85 13 10
Second-year student (n = 108; 27%) 86 11 11
Third-year student (n = 96; 24%) 80 7 9
Fourth-year student (n = 88; 22%) 69 13 6
College
Health Sciencea (n = 148; 37%) 126 12 10
Physical Scienceb (n = 132; 33%) 102 17 13
Social Sciencec (n = 120; 30%) 92 15 13

a
Faculties of Allied Health Sciences, Dentistry, Medicine, Nursing, Psychology, Veterinary Science,
Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sport Medicine.
b
Faculties of Science, Engineering, Architecture.
c
Faculty of Arts, Commerce and Accountancy, Communication Arts, Economics, Education, Fine and
Applied Arts, Law.

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VOX_209.fm Page 99 Wednesday, August 14, 2002 3:40 PM
Table 3 Reasons for whether or not to donate
No. of
Reasons subjects
Students who have
donated (n = 44)
No reason 39
Social service 4
Religious belief 1 improve the community’s knowledge of all aspects of blood
Students who have not
donated (n = 356)
Fear 305
Physical harm 30
Waste of time 21
donation practice and the level of knowledge, or between
blood donation and demographic data (χ2-test, P > 0·05).
Among non-donor respondents, fear (305 cases) was the most
common deterrent. Other reasons were concern regarding
physical harm (30 cases) and wasted time (21 cases) (Table 3).
Discussion
It has been difficult to recruit sufficient blood donors since
the advent of HIV and concerns about this infection. Methods
of obtaining blood for transfusion include those based on
business systems, voluntary donation and insurance. However,
in Thailand, there is only the community-based, all-volunteer
system. This is based on blood safety, and promotes voluntary,
non-remunerated blood donation [4].
To obtain sufficient blood, effective donor recruitment is
necessary. In Thailand, the main group of blood donors com-
prises university students. However, as it was unknown how
much this group knows about blood donation, this study was set
up. It was aimed at establishing the prevalence of blood donation
and the accuracy of beliefs about donating blood among
university students in Chulalongkorn University. For this pilot
study, 400 subjects (≈ 5% of all students) were selected as a sample.
Like the study of university students in Bangladesh [5], and
of secondary school students in Mmabatho [6], 80% of our
participants had a positive attitude towards blood donation.
However, we also detected myths about the dangers of donat-
ing blood. As in our previous study in rural Thailand [1],
some subjects believed that blood donation could inflict HIV
on them, while others thought that the blood bank sold donated
blood to patients. Hence, public appeals for blood donors
should include information about the safety of blood donation
and the provision of blood for transfusion to patients.
Although most of our subjects had good knowledge about
blood donation, only 11% had ever donated blood voluntarily
[5,6]. There was no significant correlation between the
accuracy of knowledge about, and actual blood donation.
© 2002 Blackwell Science Ltd. Vox Sanguinis (2002) 83, 97– 99
Blood donation in Thai university students 99
However, unlike the study of Nonis et al. [7], no demographic
difference was found between donors and non-donors.
Most non-donors indicated fear as the major reason for not
donating blood, including uncertainty as to the safety of
donating blood. Other investigators have reported similar
results [8,9]. Some individuals also felt that blood donation
was a waste of time. In order to increase the blood donation
rate, such notions need to be minimized. A strategy to
donation should therefore be developed.
As for those who actually did donate blood, no main reason
was given for doing so. This finding resembles that of other studies
among Thais. Perhaps it reflects the nature of Thais, who tend
to reply ‘no’ as a reason for their behaviour [3,10]. Nevertheless,
the subjects who had ‘good’ knowledge were less likely to have
donated blood (9%) than those with ‘fair’ (16%) or ‘poor’ (19%)
knowledge, and subjects with a ‘poor’ or ‘fair’ knowledge were
1·7 times more likely to donate blood than those with ‘good’
knowledge (P = 0·07). Thus, being knowledgeable, as defined
by our study, does not correlate with blood donation practice.
In conclusion, positive attitudes towards blood donation
among our sample population do not transform into actual
practice. Therefore, we need specific campaigns to convert
favourable knowledge about blood donation into regular
voluntary blood donation.
References
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