en خون شناسی آزمایشگاهی و بانک خون Laboratory hematology تحقيقي Original Paper <div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><b>Background:</b> Blood transfusion services are responsible for providing blood products. Knowing the parameters that affect people&rsquo;s decision to donate blood will help respond to this demand. This study was designed to assess the attitudes and barriers toward blood donation among volunteer donors in Mashhad (Northeast of Iran) during 2014-2015.<br> <b>Methods:</b> This cross-sectional study was performed in Iranian Blood Transfusion Organization centers in Mashhad. A total of 640 volunteer blood donors, including first-time and frequent donors, attended this study. The questionnaire was designed based on similar studies, and the reliability and validity were controlled. A questionnaire consisting of multiple-choice questions was provided to the participants. SPSS software was used for data analysis. The Student&rsquo;s t-test was used, and P<0.05 was considered significant.<br> <b>Results:</b> Among the 640 participants, 80% completed and returned the questionnaire. Of the participants, 474 (92.5%) were male and 38 (7.4%) were female. A total of 114 donors were first-time donors, and the others had donated blood before. The most important motivations for blood donation included altruism: 249 (91.88%) among frequent donors and 76 (85.40%) among first-time donors. Other factors such as social influences also played a role. Lack of time (73.80%) was the most important barrier to blood donation among the first-time donors.<br> <b>Conclusion</b>: The results showed that the most important motive and barrier for blood donation were altruism and lack of time, respectively. In other words, paying attention to the motivations and barriers of blood donation can play an important role in attracting and retaining blood donors.</span></span></div> Blood donation, Attitude, Barrier 1 4 http://mlj.goums.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-1711-1&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Faeze Shahriyari faezesh550@gmail.comyahoo.com 100319475328460031236 0009-0003-7345-1590 No Department of Hematology and Blood Banking, School of Allied Medical Sciences, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Seyyede Fatemeh Shams shams8869@yahoo.com 100319475328460031237 100319475328460031237 No Department of Hematology and Blood Banking. Faculty of Medicine. Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran; Cancer Molecular Pathology Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran Mehrnaz Abdolalian mehrnazabdolalian@gmail.com 100319475328460031238 100319475328460031238 No Department of Hematology and Blood Banking, School of Allied Medical Sciences, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Narjes Soltani Narjessoltanei@gmail.com 100319475328460031239 100319475328460031239 No Cancer Molecular Pathology Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran Hashem Honari AfzalaghaeeM1@mums.ac.ir 100319475328460031240 0009-0001-4676-1687 No Imam Reza Educational, Research and Treatment Complex, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran Leila Rafaty Javanbakht L_rafaty_j@yahoo.com 100319475328460031241 100319475328460031241 No Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, Iran Mohammadreza Javan javaneee@gmail.com 100319475328460031242 100319475328460031242 Yes Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Pharmacology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada