The level of knowledge and attitudes about cord blood storage and donation in pregnant women referring to Amiralmomenin Hospital of Zabol in 2022

In the past decades, umbilical cord blood has been recognized as a valuable source of stem cells, which is used in the treatment of many diseases. The present study was performed with aim to investigate the level of knowledge and attitudes about cord blood storage and donation in pregnant women referring to Amiralmomenin Hospital of Zabol.

This cross-sectional descriptive study was performed in 2022 on 500 pregnant women referred to Amiralmomenin Hospital in Zabol city. The data collection tool was a researcher-made questionnaire consisting of three parts: demographic characteristics, awareness and attitude towards cord blood storage and donation, which was completed by individuals. The score of the awareness section was divided into 3 groups: poor, average and good knowledge and the score of the attitude section was divided into three groups: negative, neutral and positive. Data were analyzed using SPSS software (version 16) and Spearman correlation coefficient. P<0.05 was considered statistically significant.

The mean knowledge score was 24.18±5.11 and 463 (92.6%) of the participants did not have enough information about cord blood storage and donation. The mean attitude score was 28.36±4.54 and the majority of the participants (98.8%, N=494) had a neutral attitude towards cord blood storage and donation. There was no statistically significant correlation between the two variables of awareness and attitude towards cord blood storage and donation (r= -0.03, p= 0.507).

Considering the use of umbilical cord blood stem cells in the treatment of various diseases, it seems necessary to provide information and appropriate educational planning in order to improve the awareness and attitude in pregnant women.