Al Zadjali Lubna, Batarfi Khalid, Badawi Maha, Elgohary Ghada, Aljabry Mansour, Alsuhaibani Omar, Ezzat Hatoon, Radhwi Ghazala, AlHashmi Hani
Hematology and Transfusion Medicine Divisions, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, King Abdulaziz Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Department of Hematology, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Transfusion. 2023 Feb;63 Suppl 1:S10-S19. doi: 10.1111/trf.17210.
Maintaining a safe and adequate blood supply during a crisis is a major challenge facing blood banks around the world. With the recent global COVID-19 crisis and the enforced "stay at home" lockdown, access to blood donors was limited. Since employees of healthcare facilities may act as potential blood donors, their perception of blood donation and their willingness to donate during the pandemic period is important to be assessed.
A national cross-sectional study at six centers in Saudi Arabia was conducted using an online-based questionnaire that was distributed to all healthcare employees in these facilities between June and August 2020.
Among the total of 1664 participants, 63.2% (n = 1051) did not donate blood during the last 2 years. However, 53% (n = 882) of participants reported they are likely to donate blood during the COVID-19 crisis. Furthermore, 85% (n = 1424) did not donate blood during the current pandemic, with the biggest worries of getting the COVID-19 infection in the donor center. The main concerns of participants were about adherence to physical distancing requirements and the safety of the donation procedure. The majority of health care participants (88.2%) support implementing a hospital policy for a voluntary blood donation by employees during crises.
Recruitment of more blood donors among health care employees is a feasible solution to improve the blood supply during a crisis. This should be based on efforts throughout the year including regular awareness campaigns and effective communication.
在危机期间维持安全充足的血液供应是全球血库面临的一项重大挑战。随着近期全球新冠疫情危机以及强制实施的“居家”封锁措施，献血者的招募受到限制。鉴于医疗机构的员工可能成为潜在的献血者，评估他们在疫情期间对献血的认知以及献血意愿至关重要。
在沙特阿拉伯的六个中心开展了一项全国性横断面研究，采用在线问卷的方式，于2020年6月至8月期间分发给这些机构的所有医护人员。
在总共1664名参与者中，63.2%（n = 1051）在过去两年内未献血。然而，53%（n = 882）的参与者表示他们在新冠疫情危机期间可能会献血。此外，85%（n = 1424）的人在当前疫情期间未献血，他们最担心在献血中心感染新冠病毒。参与者主要关心的是是否遵守物理距离要求以及献血程序的安全性。大多数医护人员参与者（88.2%）支持在危机期间实施一项关于员工自愿献血的医院政策。
在医护人员中招募更多献血者是在危机期间改善血液供应的一个可行解决方案。这应该基于全年的努力，包括定期开展宣传活动和进行有效沟通。
