Why don't women volunteer to give blood? A study of knowledge, attitude and practice of women about blood donation, Yazd, Iran, 2005

summary The most important aim of all blood transfusion centres is to recruit blood donors from low‐risk groups of society to donate blood voluntarily and regularly. In the city of Yazd, Iran, only 5% of blood donors are women. The aim of this study was to assess barriers of donation of blood by women and the level of knowledge, attitude and practice regarding blood donation. In this cross‐sectional study, 1602 women were selected by cluster sampling method and asked to fill a specially formatted questionnaire. Data were analysed by ANOVA and the t‐test. Levels of knowledge were different between the various groups. Illiterate women and housewives had the least levels of knowledge. Fifteen per cent of the women had donated blood at least once in the past. The most important motivational factor was sense of moral duty with a spiritual reward and the most important barriers for donating blood were anaemia, fear, lack of time and difficulty in access to donation sites. A significant percentage of women had false beliefs about blood donation. Increase in the level of knowledge of women and correction of false beliefs should be the topmost priority. Further studies are needed to determine whether addressing anaemia and women’s health can tend to increase the number of female blood donors.