The attitude of blood donors towards the use of their samples and information in biomedical research

INTRODUCTION: Blood donation is important for saving human life as blood is used in surgeries, blood transfusion and for clinical use. The mission of blood banks can be extended to include medical research. The objective of the study was to determine and assess the attitude of blood donors in Gaza towards the use of their blood samples and medical data for biomedical research and the associated ethical issues. METHODS: The study is cross-sectional and questionnaire-based and involved 616 blood donors from the Gaza Strip. RESULTS: The majority of participants (86%) showed a positive attitude towards donating blood for medical research, including genetic studies. About two-thirds of participants agreed that informed consent should be taken before conducting medical research on the donated blood. A similar percentage also accepted linking of their health information to the donated blood samples. On the other hand, about 38% of participants disapproved of sharing of their data with third parties such as health insurance companies and health authorities. Finally, 10% of participants stated that their future blood donation decision would be affected if they knew that part of their donated blood was to be used in research without taking their permission. CONCLUSION: Blood donors in Gaza Strip have a positive attitude toward using their donated blood for medical research. More awareness is required with respect to the importance of informed consent and access to biomedical information.