Knowledge, attitude and practice toward blood donation
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Establishing a reliable and sustainable blood donation and blood quality system to enable the nationalization of manufacturing of plasma fractionation in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
IRAS ID
271608
Contact name
Amr Maqans
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Cardiff University
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 11 months, 30 days
Research summary
There is an increasing demand for plasma derived blood products in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) where approximately 300,000,000 USD was spent in 2015-2016 on imports of essential medicines derived from plasma. Self-sufficiency in this area is therefore important for the economy of KSA. However, there is no uniform application of national standards or a national monitoring system to guide Blood Establishments (organizations that manufacture products from blood) in KSA. This is made worse by a shortage of voluntary unpaid donors. For example, in 2008 the Saudi Ministry of Health and Saudi Pharmaceutical Society reported that of the existing 251 Blood Establishments only 14 had external accreditation and of over 400,000 donors only 39.5% were voluntary, with most of the remainder being replacement donors, i.e. people who donate directly for family and friends undergoing treatment requiring transfusion. This situation was essentially unchanged when reviewed in 2014. In 2018 the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) published Good Manufacturing Practice for Blood Establishments but the majority of Blood Establishments are yet to accreditation due to the newness of this initiative.
This project aims to understand the reluctance for voluntary blood donation in KSA since a secure voluntary donor base is a prerequisite for any blood fractionation programme aiming to manufacture medicines from blood. Knowledge, attitudes and practice (KAP) regarding blood donation will be compared between KSA and Wales, where there is over 70 years’ experience of voluntary blood donation. Data will be collected from the general public (potential blood donors) and medical professionals to determine any key differences which might explain the different practices. The hypothesis is that socio-cultural factors are the main drivers affecting the likelihood of becoming an altruistic blood donor. If confirmed, the data obtained will inform the process of converting non-donors and replacement donors into regular voluntary donors. Additionally, the research will attempt to quantify key differences in attitudes to regulation to determine current practice by KSA Blood Establishments from the newly introduced SFDA standards in order to determine the likelihood of compliance with the SFDA standards.Information will be gathered using validated questionnaires and interviews. The outcome of this study should assist not only KSA but other Gulf Cooperation Council to also improve the quality of their blood donation programmes.
REC name
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REC reference
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