MOTIVATIONS FOR BLOOD DONATION IN SHIRAZ, FARS PROVINCE, SOUTHERN IRAN

To prepare safe and adequate blood supply to meet patients’ needs and to ensure a sufficient number of regular blood donors, knowledge of factors encouraging people to donate blood regularly is essential. Considering its importance, the objective of this study was to determine the factors encouraging or discouraging people for donating blood. This survey was conducted over six months in 2004 in Shiraz Blood Transfusion Center, Shiraz, southern Iran. Those with positive motivations had a mean ± SD age of 32.7 ± 9.6 years. Most (92.1%) of them were males, and 7.9% were females; 74.3% were married. The most important positive motivations for blood donation included altruistic causes (65.3%), check-up (12.9%), earning money (8.9%), having a belief that blood donation has a positive impact on health (8.9%), and curiosity about blood donation (4%). The mean ± SD age of those with negative motivations was 25.2 ± 7.5 years. Most (77.3%) were females, and 22.7% were males; 32.3% were married. The most important negative factors for blood donation were fear of developing dizziness and faint (45.5%) and lack of time (4.5%). The rate of negative motivations in women was more than men (P < 0.05). The main positive motivation for blood donation was altruistic reasons, which are considered to be very positive. Almost 13% of people donate blood just for check-up, which may endanger blood safety. The most important negative motivations were fear of developing dizziness and faint or some diseases as a result of blood donation. This can be alleviated through educational programs and providing sufficient care for donors.