Incentives for plasma donation.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: This work provides an overview of the incentives used for plasma donation in Europe and beyond. The overview can provide new ideas to blood establishments. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted a systematic online search of incentives used and asked national experts to validate the data across all European Union countries as well as other European and non-European countries. We categorized the data into level of incentive (using the Nuffield Council on Bioethics' rungs [2011]) and country. RESULTS: We analysed more than 490 organizations across 26 countries. Our findings reveal different incentives used in these countries. Snacks and pre-donation health checks are commonly provided. In addition, loyalty programmes, small gifts, vouchers, lotteries, travel compensations and time off from work extend the strategic incentive portfolio. Only seven countries offer financial compensation ranging from the equivalent of 10-35€ for European countries. In countries with a decentralized model, where more than one organization collects plasma, we observe that more diversified incentive strategies are generally used, including monetary and non-monetary incentives. In countries with a centralized model, where only one organization is allowed to collect plasma, financial compensation is usually not offered. Centralized plasma collection without financial compensation relies on a wider range of non-monetary incentives than with financial compensation. CONCLUSION: The country group analysis offers valuable insights into the relationship between incentive strategies and the prevailing centralized versus decentralized plasma collection model. This overview provides a broader understanding of incentives used by blood establishments and offers avenues for future practice.

Motivation, blood donor satisfaction and intention to return during the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to describe motives as well as donation experiences and the intention to return for further donations of German whole blood donors who donated at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. MATERIALS AND METHODS: To describe motives and donor experiences, a retrospective survey was conducted among whole blood donors that had a donation appointment at the German Red Cross Blood Donation Service in the first 4 weeks of the pandemic. A donor questionnaire including 17 retrospective questions was sent to 7500 donors. Donor motivation and donor experiences were compared for different donor groups using chi-square statistics. Finally, in an ordinal logistic regression model predictors for the intention to return were identified. RESULTS: More than half of the participating donors (56.9%) wanted to contribute to the fight against the pandemic by donating blood. Most of the donors were satisfied with their last donation experience and felt safe during the blood donor appointment. However, some donors would have liked more information on how to deal with the pandemic (20.3%). Intention to return for further donations was strongly associated with overall satisfaction (OR: 1.67, CI: 1.47-1.90) and the feeling of being safe during blood donation (OR: 1.33, CI: 1.05-1.68). CONCLUSION: Donor satisfaction with the last donation was high and the vast majority of donors felt very safe. However, those donors who felt unsafe expressed a low intention to return and blood donation services should therefore carefully monitor donor satisfaction.