Impact of COVID-19 on Blood Donation and Supply: A Multicenter Cross-Sectional Study from Saudi Arabia

Background. The coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic caused a major impact on blood donation process and supply globally. A lockdown management procedure was launched nationally in Saudi Arabia to manage this global health crisis. The main aim of this study was to determine the effect of COVID-19 lockdown on blood donation services and supply in different regions of Saudi Arabia. Study Design and Methods. A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted in the blood bank centers of 5 major cities including Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, Hail, and Jizan in Saudi Arabia. Demographic and blood characteristics were retrieved from the first 6 months of 2019 (January–June) and compared to the same period of 2020. Results. Our findings showed variation in the characteristics of blood donation and supply among the centers surveyed, as some of these centers were adversely affected, while others showed an increase in the availability of blood products during the pandemic. For example, Jeddah’s center was significantly affected by COVID-19 lockdown whereas Hail’s center showed a significant increase in the analyzed characteristics of blood donation services in 2020 compared to 2019. Overall, there was no major difference among the surveyed centers between 2020 and 2019, and this might be due to the effective management of blood supply and transfusion. Discussion. Although blood supply and transfusion practice was slightly affected at various degree among the surveyed centers, the whole process did not show a significant effect on the overall outcome. This is in fact due to the proper preparedness, management of blood requirements and supplies, and efficient response of the surveyed centers in Saudi Arabia.

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Knowledge, attitude and practice of blood donation among health professions students in Saudi Arabia; A cross-sectional study

Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care ◽

10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_415_19 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 8 (7) ◽

pp. 2322 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

MohammedA Alsalmi ◽

HaniM Almalki ◽

AbdulrahmanA Alghamdi ◽

BadrA Aljasir

Keyword(s):

Saudi Arabia ◽

Blood Donation ◽

Health Professions ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Attitude And Practice ◽

Knowledge Attitude And Practice

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Factors Hindering the Healthy Subjects from Attempting Their First Blood Donation : A Cross - Sectional Study among the Citizens of Jeddah City, Saudi Arabia

The Egyptian Journal of Hospital Medicine ◽

10.12816/0044765 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 70 (10) ◽

pp. 1851-1857

Author(s):

Leena Alsaiari ◽

Mohammad Qari ◽

Nouf Al-Dawsari

Keyword(s):

Saudi Arabia ◽

Healthy Subjects ◽

Blood Donation ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Jeddah City

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Causes of discontinuity of blood donation among donors in Shiraz, Iran: cross-sectional study

Sao Paulo Medical Journal ◽

10.1590/s1516-31802010000500006 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 128 (5) ◽

pp. 272-275 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Leila Kasraian

Keyword(s):

Blood Donors ◽

Blood Donation ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Demographic Characteristics ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Chi Square ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Donor Motivations ◽

Donation Process ◽

Chi Square Test

CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE: The adequacy of blood depends on blood donation rates and numbers of blood donors. To prepare adequate blood supplies, it is essential to investigate the barriers and factors that stop individuals from donating. This study aimed to identify the causes of lapsed donation at our center. DESIGN AND SETTING: Cross-sectional study of volunteer blood donors in Shiraz, Iran. METHODS: We selected 850 donors who had donated between January 1, 2005 and June 1, 2005, but had not donated again by June 2008. The participants were recruited by letter and telephone, and were interviewed using a specially designed questionnaire that contained items on demographic characteristics, donor motivations and reasons for not returning to donate. We used the chi-square test to identify associations between lapsed donor characteristics and reasons for declining to donate. RESULTS: The greatest motivation for donation was altruism. The most frequent reasons for lapsed donation were lack of time because of work and self-exclusion for medical reasons. Among first-time donors, the most frequent reasons were unsuitability for donation and lack of time. CONCLUSIONS: The reasons for not returning to donate are varied and may correlate with demographic characteristics. In this study, the main reason for not returning was lack of time. Changing donation hours so that donors can donate after work, providing mobile teams at workplaces, and shortening the duration of the donation process may help increase repeat donation rates.

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Hesitancy towards the COVID-19 vaccine among health care practitioners in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: a cross-sectional study

F1000Research ◽

10.12688/f1000research.74575.1 ◽

2022 ◽

Vol 11 ◽

pp. 24

Author(s):

Abdullah A. Almojaibel ◽

Khalid Ansari ◽

Yahya A. Alzahrani ◽

Saleh A. Alessy ◽

Faraz A. Farooqi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Health Care ◽

Saudi Arabia ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

World Health ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Health Crisis ◽

Health Care Practitioners ◽

To Receive

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is a major public health crisis worldwide. In less than 12 months since the World Health Organization declared the outbreak, several different COVID-19 vaccines have been approved and deployed mostly in developed countries since January 2021. However, hesitancy to accept the newly developed vaccines is a well-known public health challenge that needs to be addressed. The aim of this study was to measure willingness and hesitancy toward COVID-19 vaccines among health care practitioners' (HCPs) in Saudi Arabia. Methods: A cross-sectional study using an online self-reported survey was conducted among HCPs in Saudi Arabia between April 4th to April 25th 2021 using snowball sampling. Multivariate logistic regression was employed to identify the possible factors affecting HCPs’ willingness and hesitancy to receive COVID-19 vaccines. Results: Out of 776 participants who started the survey, 505 (65%) completed it and were included in the results. Among all HCPs, 47 (9.3%) either said “no” to receive the vaccine [20 (4%)] or were hesitant to receive it [27 (5.3%)]. Of the total number of the HCPs, 376 (74.5%) already received the COVID-19 vaccine, and 48 (9.50%) were registered to receive it. The main reason of agreement to receive the COVID-19 vaccine was “wanting to protect self and others from getting the infection” (24%). Conclusion: Our findings have shown that hesitancy toward receiving COVID-19 vaccines among HCPs in Saudi Arabia is limited and therefore may not be a serious issue. The outcomes of this study may help to understand factors that lead to vaccine hesitancy in Saudi Arabia and help public health authorities to design targeted health education interventions aiming to increase uptake of these vaccines.

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