Administrative Report

A Review of Blood Donor Motivation and Recruitment R. M. OSWALT From Skidmore College,Saratoga Springs, New York

Sixty English-language articles on the motivation and recruitment of blood donors and nondonors are reviewed and evaluated. Apparently researchers have been finding essentially the same results for approximately twenty years. Motivations to donate are: altruism/humanitarian, personal or family credit, social pressure, replacement and reward. Motivations not to donate are: fear (of needle, sight of blood, weakness, finger or ear pricking), medical excuses, reactions, apathy, and inconvenience. Deeper analysis of motivation suggests that donors may unconsciously desire a “pat-on-the-back” for their efforts. Retention and management of prior donors may be more significant to meeting blood needs than motivation of new donors. Suggestions for donor recruitment effectiveness are presented.

T H I S REVIEW was generated by the hypothesis that much may already be known about the motivations of blood donors and nondonors, but the information has not been gathered into one source. In addition, a review might indicate whether any new information is being generated concerning the motivations of donors and nondonors, or whether there is a more or less finite set of motivations that can be, and have been, evaluated. And finally this review emphasizes the practical evaluation of motivations, inhibitions, and practices that have been either suggested or implemented to increase the number of blood donors. This review is divided into the following topics: demographic characteristics of donors, motivations of donors, inhibitions of nondonors, and administration. There is obviously a need for blood recruitment agencies to gain as much information as

possible about the motivation, both positive and negative, that influences blood donations in order to acquire safe human blood. At the present time the best way to acquire safe blood is to exclude commercial blood because: 1) ‘‘. . . the risk of hepatitis from commercial blood is at least 1 1 times higher than that of volunteer 2) “Each year 17,000 cases of serum hepatitis result from transfused blood and one in 20 of these die”.53 , 3) “. . . blood transfusion, causes death in approximately one of every 150 transfusions in persons over 40 years of age as a result of serum he pa ti ti^."^^

Demographic Characteristics

The demographic characteristics of blood donors are provided in Table 1 because they tend to give information related to motivations. For example, knowing that the average donor tends to be male, a repeat donor, from an organized group, who does not give for a specific individual, gives at a mobile unit, and tends to be a resident of the community for which the blood is collected indicates, among other things, that men tend to be more highly motivated (or at least donate more) than are women. Such knowledge is helpful in looking at motivating factors or comparing one factor to another. For example, the factors that motivate men to donate could be manipulated to get more women to donate. However, since blood donors are reported not representative of the total population with regard to sex, race or economic status” Received for publication January 8, 1976; accepted and large discrepancies exist even in demoMay 10, 1976. Presented in part at Annual Meeting of AABB, 1975. graphic d a t a between donors and 123

Transfusion Mar.:Apr. 1977

Volume 17

Number 2

124

Transfusion Mar.-Apr. 1917

OSWALT Table 1. Demographic Characteristics of Blood Donors' Reference Number

Demographic Characteristics Male Female Single Married White Nonwhite Income (Above average) Age (average)

A review of blood donor motivation and recruitment.

Administrative Report A Review of Blood Donor Motivation and Recruitment R. M. OSWALT From Skidmore College,Saratoga Springs, New York Sixty English...
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