{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,23]],"date-time":"2026-09-23T17:41:49Z","timestamp":1790185309435,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":20,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,15]],"date-time":"2026-04-15T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1776211200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100002383","name":"King Saud University","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100002383","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Public Health"],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Blood transfusion is a critical component of healthcare systems worldwide, yet maintaining adequate blood supplies remains challenging, particularly when voluntary donation rates are low. In Saudi Arabia, women are markedly underrepresented among blood donors despite national efforts to promote donation. Understanding the cultural, social, and physiological factors influencing women's participation is essential for developing effective, gender-sensitive strategies.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>A cross-sectional, online survey was conducted among Saudi women aged 18\u201365 years between April and September 2025. The questionnaire assessed sociodemographic characteristics, knowledge, attitudes, health-related concerns, and accessibility related to blood donation. Descriptive statistics and nonparametric tests were used to analyze data from 503 respondents.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Although more than 85% of participants considered blood donation a social responsibility, only 15.1% reported a history of donation, indicating a clear attitude\u2013behavior gap. Health-related uncertainty was prominent, with 47.7% avoiding donation due to uncertainty about eligibility and 24.1% reporting previous deferral for health reasons. Cultural misconceptions, particularly regarding menstruation and female health, were common. Structural barriers were also evident; nearly half cited lack of time, while willingness to donate increased substantially if mobile donation units were available (74.2%).<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Saudi women's low participation in blood donation is driven by the interaction of health-related uncertainty, cultural misconceptions, and limited accessibility rather than lack of altruistic motivation. Addressing these barriers through culturally sensitive education, clear communication about eligibility, and improved access\u2014especially via mobile and community-based donation services\u2014may help convert willingness into sustained donor participation and strengthen the national blood supply.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2026.1806754","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,15]],"date-time":"2026-04-15T05:45:05Z","timestamp":1776231905000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Evaluation of the cultural, health-related, and structural barriers to blood donation among women in Saudi Arabia: a cross-sectional study"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Abdulrahman","family":"Alshalani","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University","place":["Riyadh, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Turky","family":"AlSulaiman","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University","place":["Riyadh, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Judy","family":"Alharisy","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University","place":["Riyadh, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yazan","family":"Alqahtani","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University","place":["Riyadh, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Abdulmajeed","family":"Altihani","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University","place":["Riyadh, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Haifa","family":"AlNafea","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University","place":["Riyadh, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,15]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","unstructured":"Geneva\n          World Health Organization.\n          Blood Transfusion\n          \n          2022"},{"key":"B2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"44","DOI":"10.1053\/j.semperi.2018.11.008","article-title":"Postpartum hemorrhage: blood product management and massive transfusion","volume":"43","author":"Kogutt","year":"2019","journal-title":"Semin Perinatol."},{"key":"B3","unstructured":"(HPS)\n              HPPaS\n            \n          \n          Geneva\n          World Health Organization.\n          Global status report on blood safety and availability 2021\n          \n          2022"},{"key":"B4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"103450","DOI":"10.1016\/j.sjbs.2022.103450","article-title":"Demography and blood donation trends in Saudi Arabia: a nationwide retrospective, cross-sectional study","volume":"29","author":"Alsughayyir","year":"2022","journal-title":"Saudi J Biol Sci."},{"key":"B5","year":"2013","journal-title":"Press Report on the MOH's Efforts Regarding Blood Donation"},{"key":"B6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e43479","DOI":"10.1097\/MD.0000000000043479","article-title":"Exploring women's capability to donate blood in a Saudi blood bank: a COM-B model study","volume":"104","author":"Badawi","year":"2025","journal-title":"Medicine (Baltimore)."},{"key":"B7","unstructured":"Statistics\n              GAf\n            \n          \n          GASTAT publishes Saudi Women's Statistics Report 2024: General Authority for Statistics\n          \n          2025"},{"key":"B8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"169","DOI":"10.4103\/joah.joah_74_24","article-title":"Blood donor characteristics at a hospital blood bank in saudi arabia: a trend-analysis","volume":"15","author":"Almalki","year":"2024","journal-title":"J Applied Hematol"},{"key":"B9","article-title":"Barriers to blood donation: donor deferrals in a Saudi hospital setting","author":"Kuriri","year":"2024","journal-title":"Ann Clin Lab Sci."},{"key":"B10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2353","DOI":"10.4103\/jfmpc.jfmpc_2182_20","article-title":"Voluntary blood donation among female health care university students in Saudi Arabia, knowledge and 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A Study on the Attitude, Belief and Motivation of Saudi Female University Students Towards Blood Donation","volume":"62","author":"Al-Johar","year":"2016","journal-title":"Clin Lab."},{"key":"B14","first-page":"74","article-title":"Attitude, belief and knowledge about blood donation and transfusion in Saudi population","volume":"24","author":"Al Drees","year":"2007","journal-title":"Pak J Med Sci."},{"key":"B15","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"539670","DOI":"10.1155\/2014\/539670","article-title":"Knowledge, attitudes, and motivations towards blood donation among King Abdulaziz medical city population","volume":"2014","author":"Alfouzan","year":"2014","journal-title":"Int J Family Med."},{"key":"B16","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"256","DOI":"10.1016\/j.htct.2020.03.009","article-title":"Reasons of under-representation of Iranian women in blood donation","volume":"43","author":"Kasraian","year":"2021","journal-title":"Hematol Transfus Cell Ther."},{"key":"B17","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"447","DOI":"10.1111\/vox.13436","article-title":"Blood donation among women in Nigeria: motivators, barriers and appealing incentives","volume":"118","author":"Olawumi","year":"2023","journal-title":"Vox Sang."},{"key":"B18","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"179","DOI":"10.1016\/0749-5978(91)90020-T","article-title":"The theory of planned behavior","volume":"50","author":"Ajzen","year":"1991","journal-title":"Organ Behav Hum Decis Proc."},{"key":"B19","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"3260","DOI":"10.1182\/bloodadvances.2021006402","article-title":"Donor-recipient sex is associated with transfusion-related outcomes in critically ill patients","volume":"6","author":"Alshalani","year":"2022","journal-title":"Blood Adv."},{"key":"B20","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"221","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1423-0410.2011.01487.x","article-title":"Mortality after transfusions, relation to donor sex","volume":"101","author":"Middelburg","year":"2011","journal-title":"Vox Sang."}],"container-title":["Frontiers in Public Health"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fpubh.2026.1806754\/full","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,15]],"date-time":"2026-04-15T05:45:07Z","timestamp":1776231907000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fpubh.2026.1806754\/full"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,15]]},"references-count":20,"alternative-id":["10.3389\/fpubh.2026.1806754"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/fpubh.2026.1806754","relation":{},"ISSN":["2296-2565"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2296-2565","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,15]]},"article-number":"1806754"}}