Social attitudes of Belarusian youth regarding donation of blood and blood components

The current stage of medical technologies development is characterized by the introduction of high-tech methods of treatment related to the increasing needs of medical institutions in the donor blood and its components [1; 2; 3]. Donor activity is one of the basic factors of high-tech medical care development [4].

The requirements for the quality of stored blood and blood derivatives have become more rigid [5]. Dissemination of socially dangerous diseases leads to the reduction of donation rates and actualizes searches for new approaches to regulatory requirements in the components and blood products [6]. Today improvement of donorship organization techniques, development and introduction of new efficient methods of enhancing donorship and improving injection safety of blood and blood components get particular importance [7; 8].

In 1995 the World Health Organization declared the basic principles of safe blood transfusion, the basic triad of which was formulated as a "safe donors – safety of blood products – safe blood transfusion" [9]. Namely donors (both active and potential) can be considered as a specific object of social study. Nowadays in Belarus opportunities of sociology in studying and improving the structure of donor contingent are practically not implemented. However, safety of paid blood donation is maintained in Belarus and that allows fulfilling public health care needs with products of donor blood [9]. For example, blood service in Ukraine is not able to cover the requirements of medical institutions in the blood components and blood products [10].

Category of young people under 21 years among donors in Belarus is at the average level of 15% [9]. The World Health Organization recommends implementation of innovative approaches to attract people, particularly young, to participate in blood donation [11]. It is important to ensure that young people are not spontaneous donors but regular, i.e. they donate blood (or its components) constantly.

It is interesting to consider the attitude of Belarusian youth to blood donation, to describe the possible causes of youth participation in the donor movement or its abandoning reasons. With this aim we have turned to the survey conducted in the Republic of Belarus in October 2012 by the Center of Sociological and Political Studies of Belarusian State University (Minsk). The total sample size was one thousand people, the group of people aged 18 to 29 years among them reached 274 respondents.

56% of young people stated that they wanted to donate blood as a donor. However, only 28% of them said they have actually donated blood at least once.

44% of the youth group members never wanted to donate blood. Among the reasons that might prompt them to share out the blood, the most widespread were "If a loved one is in a hospital (if a loved one needs blood)" (51%), "The desire to help a particular person" (47%), "An extraordinary situation by reason of which a large number of people needs blood"(41%). It should be noted that potential donors often have no material interest: only 12% of respondents said that "The need to get additional earnings” may impulse them to donate blood.

In the group of those who had never realized the desire to donate blood (a group of potential donors), the most common reasons for non-participation in the donor movement are: medical contraindications – 23,4%, difficulty with passing the preliminary examination in the clinic – 22,5%, considering themselves as not healthy enough – 16,2%, fear of getting infected – 15,3%, lack of information about what to do for becoming a donor – 11,7%; fear of feeling badly – 10,8%.

In the same group we can mark next possible motives as the most common for becoming a donor: "If a loved one is in a hospital (if a loved one needs blood)" (62%), " An extraordinary situation by reason of which a large number of people needs blood" (60,4%), "The desire to help a particular person" (59,5%). Relatively low interest of young people in material incentives can also be noted: 15,3% of the respondents said that they can be motivated by the desire to get extra money.

Since "the monotony of social positions, the unity of cultural affiliation, the general laws of mental development give rise to the unity of motives" [12, p.8], the allocation of groups with different predominant motives for participation (or non-participation) in the blood donation seems to be possible. The relevant information impact should be implemented to the target groups for generating a positive attitude to donation of blood and its components. Also the non-financial incentives of donor activity should be developed.

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Sviatnenko Sviatoslav

National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy

(Ukraine, Kyiv)