Understanding Blood Donation Practices in Gilgit, Pakistan
An Anthropological Perspective
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.58329/criss.v3i3.152Abstract
Abstract Views: 358
Blood is widely recognized as an essential bodily fluid crucial for sustaining life, and blood donation plays a critical role in saving lives. Ensuring access to a safe and sufficient supply of blood and its derivatives and reliable blood transfusion services is indispensable for a strong healthcare system. It is important to note that voluntary non-remunerated blood donors are the most reliable source of safe blood supply. In Pakistan, 70% of donated blood comes from replacement or paid donations, while only 10% comes from voluntary donations. In Gilgit, voluntary blood donation is scarce, and most blood comes from replacements. The respondents display limited understanding of blood transfusion, while they exhibit a positive attitude toward voluntary blood donation despite low participation. This discrepancy is attributed to inadequate awareness and campaigns, as well as prevalent myths and negative perceptions associated with blood and blood donation. Furthermore, sectarian-based segregation, the symbolic relationships between the donor and recipient and the exclusion of female blood donors exacerbate the gap between blood supply and demand. The research emphasises culturally suited solutions and strategies that can help enhance voluntary blood donation in Gilgit.
Keywords:
Transfusion, Voluntary, Blood Donation, Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices
References
Al-Drees, A. M. (2008). Attitude, Belief and Knowledge about blood donation and transfusion in Saudi Population. Pakistan Journal of Medical Science, 24(1), 74-79. Retrieved from https://www.pjms.com.pk/issues/janmar08/pdf/transfusion.pdf
Copeman, J. (2008). Violence, Non-Violence, and Blood Donation in India. The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, 14(2), 278-298. doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9655.2008.00501.x
Copeman, J. (2009). Introduction: Blood donation, bioeconomy, culture. Body and Society, 15, 1-28. doi:https://doi.org/10.1177/1357034X09103435
Copeman, J. (2017). Blood. The International Encyclopedia of Anthropology, 6, 1-5. doi:https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118924396.wbiea1419
Dilshad, S., Tanriover, O., Hidiroglu, S., Gurbuz, Y., & Karavus, M. (2014). Knowledge, Attitudes and Beliefs of Turkish Women towards Blood Donation. Journal of Pakistan Medical Association, 64(8), 869-873. Retrieved from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25252509/
Gader, A. G., Osman, A. M., Al-Gahtani, F. H., Farghali, M. N., Ramadan, A. H., & Al-Momen, A. K. (2011). Attitude to blood donation in Saudi Arabia. Asian Journal of Transfusion Science(5), 121-126. doi:https://doi.org/10.4103%2F0973-6247.83235
Mumtaz, Z. (2009). Promoting Voluntary Blood Donations in Pakistan: Meanings of Blood, Bleeding and Blood Donations. Islamabad: National AIDS Control Program, Government of Pakistan. Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/45090556
Patidar, G. K., Chaurasia, R., & Pandey, H. C. (2023). Blood banking: The situation in India. Transfusion and Apheresis Science, 62(5).
Saleem, S., Wasim, A., Sabih, S., Khan, F. A., Rizvi, H. M., Jillani, A. U., . . . Mamtaz, M. (2014). Assessing Acceptability of Short Message Service Based Interventions towards Becoming Future Voluntary Blood Donors. Journal of Blood Transfusion, 1-6.
SBTP. (2011). Naional Blood Donor Policy. Islamabad: Safe Blood Transfusion Programme: Ministry of Health Government of Pakistan.
SBTP. (2016 a). Annual Report 2016. Islamabad: Safe Blood Transfussion Programme: Government of Pakistan.
Shooshtari, M. M., & Pourfathollah, A. (2006). An Overview Analysis Of Blood Donation In The Islamic Republic Of Iran. Archives of Iranian Medicine, 9(3), 200-203.
Titmuss, R. M. (1997). The Gift Relationship: From Human Blood to Social Policy. London: Allen and Unwin.
WHO. (2010). Towards 100% voluntary blood donation: A global framework for action. Geneva: World Health Organization.
WHO. (2011). Blood Safety: Key Global Facts and Figures in 2011. Geneva: World Health Organization.
WHO. (2016). Pakistan Health Profile 2015. Cairo: World Health Organization. Retrieved from https://iris.who.int/bitstream/handle/10665/253769/EMROPUB_2016_EN_19266.pdf?sequence=1
WHO. (2017). Global status report on blood safety and availability 2016. Geneva: World Health Organization.
WHO. (2017). Regional Status Report on Blood Safety and Availibility 2016. Cairo: World Health Organization Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean.
WHO. (2022). Global Status Report on Blood Safety and Availability 2021. Geneva: World Health Organization.
WHO. (2023). Voluntary non-remunerated blood donations to ensure blood safety in the WHO. New Delhi: World Health Organization Regional Office for South East Asia.
Abbsas, S., Malik, A., & Rafique, M. (2022). Budding Marriage. Life Satisfaction and Quality of Life among, 7, 113-119.
Aftab, M., Syed, K. B. S., & Katper, N. A. (2017). Exchange-rate volatility and Malaysian-Thai bilateral industry trade flows. Journal of Economic Studies, 44(1), 99-114.
Ahmed, J., Rafique, M. O., Qureshi, A., Shamsuddin, P., & Abd Wahab, D. S. (2024). Bridging the Gap: Exploring the Role of Green Transformational Leadership in Fostering Sustainability in the Islamic Banking Industry.
Alaskar, M. Z., Kim, J. R., Nguyen, T. H., & Rafique, M. (2025). Balancing performance and ethics: Navigating visual recognition technology adoption in the auditing industry. Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, 59, 100701.
Ali, U. A., Qureshi, M. A., Rafique, M. O., & Ali, L. (2025). THE COFFEE COURTYARD–BREWING GROWTH OR TROUBLE?. Journal of Management Science Research Review, 4(4), 1-4.
Dakhan, S. A., Sohu, J. M., Jabeen, A., Mirani, M. A., Shaikh, J. A., & Iqbal, S. (2020). Impact of green HRM on employees pro-environmental behavior: mediating role of women environmental knowledge at higher education institutions. IJCSNS International Journal of Computer Science and Network Security, 20(12), 202-208.
Dakhan, S. A., Sohu, J. M., Jabeen, A., Mirani, M. A., Shaikh, J. A., & Iqbal, S. (2020). Impact of green HRM on employees pro-environmental behavior: mediating role of women environmental knowledge at higher education institutions. IJCSNS International Journal of Computer Science and Network Security, 20(12), 202-208.
Ghani, H., Khan, C., Miraj, J., & Shaikh, J. A. (2023). GREEN MARKETING AND ITS IMPACT ON CONUSMER PURCHASING BEHAVIOR OF BALOCHISTAN. THE ASIAN BULLETIN OF GREEN MANAGEMENT AND CIRCULAR ECONOMY, 3(1), 122-142.
Henry, H., & Rafique, M. (2021). Impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on auditors: a thematic analysis. IOSR Journal of Business and Management, 23(9), 1-10.
Hureri, M. A., Rafique, M. O., & Yousufi, A. R. (2021). URDU-5 The Development of Spouse in The Light of Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)’S Relation with Sayyedah Aisha (RA). Al-Aijaz Research Journal of Islamic Studies & Humanities, 5(2), 53-73.
Hussain, A., Ahmad, J., Altaf, Y., Khan, M., & Sanghi, A. (2016). A study on various attributing reasons for switching telecommunication brands among various cellular services at Larkana, Sindh, Pakistan. Finance and Management Sciences, 11(1), 36-83.
Hussain, J., Rafique, M. O., Gill, A., & Naveed, A. (2025). The Psychological and Social Consequences of TikTok Addiction Among Youth in Karachi. Journal of Management Science Research Review, 4(4), 5-36.
Johl, S. K., Umrani, A. I., & Munodawafa, R. T. (2017, November). A comparative study of active learning with and without using mind mapping approach. In 2017 7th World Engineering Education Forum (WEEF) (pp. 839-843). IEEE.
Katper, N. K., Chaudhry, N. I., Tunio, M. N., & Ali, M. A. (2020). Impact of leadership style and organizational culture on organizational commitment. Sukkur IBA Journal of Management and Business, 7(1), 92-106.
Katper, N. K., Shaikh, S. S., Anand, V., & Ali, N. I. (2018). Analysing the impact of managerial ownership on the performance of shariah-compliant firms in Pakistan. International Business Research, 11(11), 55-66.
Khan, A., Ahmed, J., & Khan, F. U. (2019). An Empirical Study of Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty: An Evidence of Telecom Sector in Pakistan. Journal of Business & Tourism, 5(2), 65-78.
Khan, A., Ishfaque Ahmed, M. H., & Ahmed, J. IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING ON BRAND BUILDING: A CASE STUDY OF OLX, PAKISTAN.
KHAN, A., LIAQUAT, S., SHEIKH, J., & Pirzado, A. A. (2021). The impact of corona virus (COVID-19) on E-business in Pakistan. Journal of Contemporary Issues in Business and Government| Vol, 27(3), 83.
Malik, A., Riaz, M., Akbar, E., Rafique, M., & Afza, N. (2003). C-alkylated coumarin and coumarin glycoside from Daphne oleoides. Heterocycles-Sendai Institute of Heterocyclic Chemistry, 60(4), 947-952.
Rafique, M. (2021). An exploratory study of digitalisation in the UK accountancy practices initiated by Making Tax Digital and Cloud Accounting. IOSR Journal of Business and Management, 23(4), 40-46.
Rafique, M. (2021). The human factor in mergers, acquisitions, and transformational change. Business Expert Press.
Rafique, M. O. (2019). THE DEVELOPMENT OF SPOUSE IN THE LIGHT OF HOLY PROPHET MUHAMMAD (PBUH)’S RELATION WITH SAYYEDAH AISHA RA. DEVELOPMENT AND SOCIAL HARMONY IN SOUTHEAST ASIA (ICDIS), 73.
Rafique, M. O. (2019). THE DEVELOPMENT OF SPOUSE IN THE LIGHT OF HOLY PROPHET MUHAMMAD (PBUH)’S RELATION WITH SAYYEDAH AISHA RA. DEVELOPMENT AND SOCIAL HARMONY IN SOUTHEAST ASIA (ICDIS), 73.
Rafique, M. O., & Siddiqui, F. (2024). Building Ethical Financial Pathways: Mabrook and the Future of Shariah-Compliant Crowdfunding.
Rafique, M. O., Abdullah, A. S. C., & Fatoni, M. A. W. (2021). Analysis of legal stratagems cases in the Quran and Sunnah. Al-Turath Journal of al-Quran and al-Sunnah, 6(2), 89-97.
Rafique, M. O., Abdullah, A. S. C., & Fatoni, M. A. W. (2021). Analysis of legal stratagems cases in the Quran and Sunnah. Al-Turath Journal of al-Quran and al-Sunnah, 6(2), 89-97.
Rafique, M. O., Abdullah, A. S. C., & Fatoni, M. A. W. (2023). Analysis of Ḥiyal (Legal Stratagems) Cases in Islamic Financial Law. Russian Law Journal, 11(2), 299-308.
Rafique, M. O., Hussain, J., & Hasnain, S. M. (2025). Determinants of Sustainable Investment Intention: The Mediating Role of Environmental Awareness. The Critical Review of Social Sciences Studies, 3(4), 3356-3367.
Rafique, M. O., Hussain, J., & Hasnain, S. M. (2025). Factors Influencing Adoption of Sustainable Banking Services: A SEM-Based Study. Advance Journal of Econometrics and Finance, 3(3), 554-561.
Rafique, M. O., Saeed, A., Anis, M., Mahboob, F., & Ghaffar, A. (2022). Analysis of Makaharij (relaxations) in AAOIFI Sharīʿah Standards for Islamic Banks.
Rao, A. A., & Rafeeq, M. U. (2019). An Analysis of Imposed Charity (Iltizām-e-Taṣadduq) in Islamic Banking. Journal of Religious Studies, 2(1), 1-15.
Shaikh, P. A., Ahmed, M., Yousaf, H., & Ahmed, J. (2020). The determinants of poverty: A case study of district Lasbela, Balochistan, Pakistan. International Journal of Advanced Science and Technology, 29(7), 9688-9700.
Shaikh, S. S., Shah, S. A. S., Katpar, N. K., & Shah, S. K. B. (2019). Factors affecting work-life balance of women working in NGOs of Pakistan. The Women-Annual Research Journal of Gender Studies, 11(11).
Shaikh, S., Tharkar, P., Thakur, P., & Sheikh, J. (2016). Human Fall Detection and Monitoring System. International Journal of Advanced Research in Computer Engineering & Technology (IJARCET), 5(5).
Wyman, L. C., & Boyd, W. C. (1935). Human Blood Groups and Anthropology. American Anthropologist, 37(2), 181-200.
Zaheer, H. A. (2012). Blood management in disaster situations in Pakistan. International Society of Blood Transfusion, 7, 1-5.
Zaheer, H. A., & Waheed, U. (2015). National Baseline Survey on Monitoring and Evaluation of Blood Screening Systems in Pakistan. Blood Disorders & Transfusion, 6(2), 1-5.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 CARC Research in Social Sciences
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
