Awareness, Willingness and Self-Reported Eligibility Characteristics for Blood Donation Among Young Undergraduates of David Umahi Federal University of Health Sciences, Uburu, Ebonyi State, Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: Nigeria continues to face shortages of safe blood, with substantial reliance on family replacement donors. University students are young, accessible and potentially suitable for repeat voluntary donation, but institution-specific evidence is needed to guide safe campus donor mobilisation. This study assessed awareness, knowledge, willingness, previous donation practice and self-reported eligibility characteristics for blood donation among undergraduates of David Umahi Federal University of Health Sciences (DUFUHS), Uburu, Nigeria. METHODOLOGY: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among DUFUHS undergraduates in September 2025. The minimum sample size was 334 after finite population correction; 352 students were approached to allow for incomplete or unusable questionnaires, and 334 complete questionnaires were analysed, giving a usable response rate of 94.9%. Data were collected using a structured, pre-tested questionnaire adapted from previous blood donation studies. Variables included socio-demographic characteristics, awareness, knowledge, willingness, previous donation and self-reported eligibility characteristics. Data were analysed using IBM SPSS Statistics version 23.0. Categorical variables were summarised as frequencies and percentages, and associations were assessed using chi-square or Fisher-Freeman-Halton exact tests at p < 0.05. RESULTS: The mean age was 19.43 ± 2.98 years, and 248 (74.2%) respondents were female. Awareness of the blood donation process was reported by 172 (51.6%), while 162 (48.4%) were familiar with eligibility requirements. Only 51 (15.4%) were likely to donate within six months, 69 (20.7%) met the predefined willingness criterion, and 310 (92.9%) had never participated in blood donation drives. CONCLUSIONS: Awareness was moderate, but willingness and previous donation practice were low. DUFUHS should implement regular campus blood donation drives, peer donor clubs, targeted social media education and formal collaboration with authorised blood transfusion services.