Patterns in Maltese blood donors : a geographic perspective

Abstract

The demand for blood has been rising in Malta. This study will look at blood donation from a geographic perspective in order to understand better the spatial distribution of Maltese blood donors donating at the Guardamangia Blood Donation Centre. Also socio-demographic factors, namely age and gender, and socio-economic factors, specifically income and education level were analysed in order to find if these factors affect the blood donation rate of each specific locality. The data was regarding blood donation was collected from the donor registry provided by National Blood Transfusion Service whereas data relating to socio-economic and socio-demographic factors was collected from National Statistics Office official records. Choropleth maps mapping blood donation rates by its locality were used to find spatial distribution pattern of blood donors in Malta. On the other hand statistical analyses methods, namely OneWay ANOVA, Tukey HSD Post Hoc test and Pearson’s Coefficient test were used to analyse the relationship between blood donation rates and socio-economic factors. Several spatial patterns in the distribution of blood donation rates by locality were found. Results showed that most localities in the Western and Northern Harbour districts have a high blood donation rate with Qormi having the highest. Although males tend to have a higher blood donation rate, it was found that minimal differences are present in the distribution of blood donor at locality level. The 17-24 age group had the lowest blood donation rate whereas the highest were found in the age groups of 35- 44 and 44-54. Also, at a level of significance of 0.05 it was found that both income and education level affect blood donation rate positively. It was concluded that further studies on this subject should be made in order to understand the annual trends of blood donor in Malta.