The perception of individuals towards blood donation in some selected healthcare facilities in Maiduguri, Borno State – Nigeria

The perception of individuals towards blood donation in some selected health facilities in Maiduguri, Borno State – Nigeria was studied. Blood donation entails an individual voluntarily allowing a withdrawal of some volume of blood from him or her for the purpose of transfusions and/or for biopharmaceutical purposes. This study seeks to determine the perception of family members towards voluntary blood donation to pregnant mothers. It also seeks to determine the socio-cultural factors affecting voluntary blood donation to pregnant mothers in this crisis–prone area. The study is significant in the sense that the result will benefit the individuals and the Government of Nigeria It employed descriptive research design. Likert rating scale, Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests were used. The knowledge and perception of the respondents as regards voluntary blood donation are positively correlated but there was no significant difference between the age ranges or between the genders in the three selected hospitals. Socio-cultural factors negatively affected willingness to voluntarily donate blood in the selcted hospitals. There was no significant difference in the influence of educational qualification of respondents towards voluntary blood donations to pregnant women. It was concluded that the family members have knowledge towards voluntary blood donation to pregnant women in some selected hospitals in North-eastern Nigeria. This study recommends that the Government should mount advocacy and sensitization campaigns to correct myths or misconceptions on voluntary blood donations to pregnant women through radio programmes in local languages. Additionally, the Governmet should provide incentives to potential voluntary blood donors as a way of encouraging blood donation Keywords: Knowledge, Perception, Blood, Donation