Attitude towards blood donation and its associated factors, types of blood donation, willingness, and feeling towards blood donation among potential blood donors in Ethiopia: systematic review and meta-analysis, observational study

Blood donation is crucial for certain populations, such as pregnant mothers, anemic patients, traumatized patients, and individuals undergoing surgery. The imbalance between the number of blood donors and the demand for blood in Ethiopia is a serious public health concern. Having a favorable attitude towards blood donation could aid in correcting this imbalance. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the proportion of favorable attitudes, types of blood donation, willingness, and feelings towards blood donation in Ethiopia. Several databases were searched to retrieve the available articles. Heterogeneity and publication bias were assessed using the Galbraith plot with Cochrane I² statistics and funnel plot with Egger's test, respectively. Subgroup analysis was done to identify the cause of the substantial heterogeneity. The pooled prevalence of favorable attitudes about blood donation was 65.28% (60.10–70.47). A higher prevalence was reported among studies conducted after 2020, in Northern Ethiopia and among health care professionals: 72.66%, 68.45%, and 69.41%, respectively. The percentages of people who had good feelings, willing to donate, and encouraged others to donate are 83.99%, 74.23%, and 77.96%, respectively. Conversely, 42.84% of participants believe that risk will happen following donation. There was an association between knowledge and attitude towards blood donation (AOR = 1.76; 95% CI: 1.48–2.99). The findings of this study may imply the preparation of a blood donation campaign that helps the community. Concerned bodies from governmental and non-governmental organizations may arrange and design community education, which may increase the number of voluntary donors.