Positive Practice Toward Voluntary Unpaid Blood Donation Among College Students in Shandong, China, 2013–2017

The chronic worldwide shortage of blood for transfusions has become an important public health problem, especially in developing countries. The aim of the current study was to assess the practice of voluntary unpaid blood donation (VUBD) among college students in the past 5 years (2013–2017). The blood donation data of college students from 41 universities were collected. Change trends in the rate of blood donation among college students from 2013 to 2017 were examined. A continuous increasing trend in the rate of VUBD was observed over the past 5 years, from 3.36% in 2013 to 6.56% in 2017 (p < .01). In conclusion, a positive practice toward VUBD was observed among college students in Shandong, China. It is necessary to improve the recruitment strategies, establishing a long-term mechanism and promoting the sustainable development of VUBD