Perceptions and Experiences of Migrants in Korea Regarding Blood Donation in Association with Sociodemographic Status

Background With increasing number of migrants in Korea, there is an increasing need for blood products with rare blood antigens. Accordingly, the role of blood donors among migrants has been acknowledged. We investigated migrants' experiences and perceptions of blood donation along with their sociodemographic status and identified the effects on self-reported blood donation status. Methods A cross-sectional survey using a self-developed, structured questionnaire was conducted on 479 migrants. The questionnaire included items about experiences, knowledge, and perceptions on blood donation and sociodemographic factors of respondents. Results Most migrants in this study were from Southeast Asia (54.7%) or China (39.9%). Among them, 28.6% (N=137) had donated blood previously, and 2.7% (N=13) had previously donated blood in Korea. All previous blood donors were volunteers, and the two major deterrents of blood donation for non-donors were the fear of pain and lack of knowledge about blood donation. In multivariable logistic regression analysis, the country of birth (odds ratio [OR]=2.65, P