Voluntary, non-remunerated blood donation is the foundation of a safe and adequate blood supply, yet the quantity collected in India remains below national need. Health-profession students are a strategic group for building a donor base, but their knowledge of donation is often incomplete.

To assess pre-test and post-test knowledge regarding blood donation, to evaluate the effect of a structured teaching programme (STP) on knowledge, and to describe attitude towards blood donation among B.Sc. nursing students.

A quantitative, one-group pretest–posttest study with a descriptive component was conducted at the Government Nursing College, G.M.H. Rewa, Madhya Pradesh, in February 2023. Sixty students were recruited by non-probability purposive sampling. Data were collected with a structured questionnaire on demographic characteristics and donation history, a 30-item multiple-choice knowledge questionnaire (maximum score 30) and a five-point Likert attitude scale. A 45-minute lecture-cum-discussion STP was delivered between the pre-test and post-test. Data were analysed with frequencies, percentages, means, standard deviations, the paired t-test and the chi-square test.

Before the STP, 61.7% (n = 37) of students had inadequate knowledge, 21.7% (n = 13) moderate and 16.7% (n = 10) adequate knowledge. After the STP, no student had inadequate knowledge, 33.3% (n = 20) had moderate and 66.7% (n = 40) had adequate knowledge. The mean knowledge score increased from 9.97 ± 2.51 to 26.91 ± 3.42 (mean gain 16.94; paired t = 30.95, df = 59, p < 0.001). Overall, 38.3% had never donated blood, and 91% of students held a positive attitude. Post-test knowledge was not significantly associated with the demographic variables studied.

Baseline knowledge of blood donation among nursing students was largely inadequate, although attitudes were favourable. A brief structured teaching programme produced a large improvement in knowledge. Embedding such programmes in the nursing curriculum may help convert favourable attitudes into voluntary donation behaviour. Because the design lacked a control group, these findings should be confirmed in controlled studies.