A sociological assessment of youth’s knowledge and behaviour towards voluntary blood donation in Gombe metropolis

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess the Knowledge of youths and practice of voluntary blood donation in Gombe metropolis. The study examined the knowledge of youths towards voluntary donation and identified factors that motivate or discourage youths to voluntarily donate blood. A cross sectional descriptive survey was conducted and multistage cluster sampling technique was employed in selecting 375 respondents. The data was gathered through semi-structured questionnaire and coded in SPSS (version 16.0.). Findings revealed high level of knowledge and poor voluntary blood donation behaviour, as only 6.1% (23) of the youths were voluntary blood donors. The study concludes that having good knowledge is a necessary condition but not sufficient to predict the blood donation behaviour of an individual. The study recommended that the awareness campaign should be extended beyond world blood donor day, especially in public place such as market squares and worship centres, so as to convert the knowledge into actual blood donation.