Knowledge and acceptance of cord blood transfusion as an alternative to adult blood transfusion by sickle cell anaemia patients.

Background: Voluntary Adult blood donor panel is low in Nigeria. Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a common chronic disease which requires regular blood transfusion. Cord blood has been shown to be physiologically suitable as an alternative to adult blood transfusion. Aim: To assess the knowledge and acceptance of cord blood transfusion as an alternative to adult blood in SCD patients. Design and methods: A descriptive study was carried out from March to May 2009. Subjects included SCD patients recruited from the university of Benin teaching hospital and the sickle cell centre in Benin City. Interviewer administered questionnaires were used to assess SCD patients' awareness and acceptance of cord blood as an alternative to adult blood for transfusion purposes. Results: A total of 125 SCD patients who completely filled and returned questionnaire were analyzed. None of the patients had knowledge of use of cord blood as an alternative for adult blood transfusion but Eighty-three percent of respondents (104/125) also had no previous knowledge of use of cord blood for stem cell transplantation. Sixty-six, (66/125) 58.8% of respondents would accept cord blood transfusion while 47.2% would not. The main reason for rejecting cord blood was found to be fear of medical complications 44/59(74.5%). Sixty-one percent of respondents were transfused 2-3 times in the preceding 12 months. The most frequent transfusion reaction observed was febrile reactions (51.5%) followed by urticaria (22.2%). Conclusion: This study has shown that majority of the respondents will accept cord blood transfusion. The main reason for rejecting cord blood transfusion was fear of medical complications. More patients will accept cord blood transfusion if adequately counseled.Key words: Adult blood transfusion, Sickle cell disease and Cord blood transfusion