Menstrual Blood as Stem Cell Potential: The Turkish Example

Area of Science:

• Reproductive Health
• Biomedical Science

Background:

• Menstrual blood is a rich source of stem cells.
• Awareness of menstrual blood donation for stem cell therapies is growing globally.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess midwifery students' knowledge and opinions on menstrual blood donation in Turkey.
• To identify barriers to awareness regarding menstrual blood stem cells.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional study of 1346 midwifery students across Turkish universities.
• Online questionnaire assessing sociodemographic data and knowledge of menstrual blood donation.
• Data analyzed using descriptive statistics and Chi-square test.

Main Results:

• 50% of students viewed menstruation positively.
• Only 8.2% knew menstrual blood contains stem cells; 1.2% knew it can be donated.
• Awareness of menstrual blood banking was very low (2.6%).

Conclusions:

• Midwifery students in Turkey exhibit limited knowledge of menstrual blood's stem cell potential.
• Positive perceptions of menstruation may correlate with higher knowledge levels.
• Educational interventions are needed to improve awareness of menstrual blood donation.