Abstract:
Blood donation is of paramount concern to the society for life saving. The average annual
blood collection rates in Ethiopia are extremely low. Out of the 44 WHO African countries,
merely 22% of blood was being donated by voluntary blood donors in Ethiopia. To assess the
level of knowledge, practice and associated factors towards blood donation among students of
Bihar Dar University, North West Ethiopia, institution based cross-sectional study design was
used from April 30 to May 15, 2016. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect
data. Out of 814 participants, 809 (99.4%) responded to the questionnaire. About 53.4% of
respondents had poor knowledge regarding blood donation, male was 1.42 times more
knowledgeable than females, department of medicine 1.93 times more likely good knowledge
as compared with other departments and family educational status also significantly
associated with knowledge. About 27.9% students donated blood in the age of 19 to 24 years
were 2.61 times more likely to donate blood voluntarily than those with age of 25 years and
above. Similarly, students whose family residence is rural were 46% less likely to donate
blood as compared with those who came from urban areas.
