A novel approach to increasing inventory with the current panel: increasing donation frequency by asking for a different blood product

What influences decisions to donate plasma? A rapid review of the literature

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Plasma has become an essential ingredient for various medical treatments. Many blood collection agencies rely on voluntary non-remunerated donation when collecting plasma, but at present many do not collect sufficient plasma to meet domestic demands. This rapid review sought to explore the factors that have been found to influence people's decisions to donate plasma to inform future research.

METHODS

Searches were conducted in PubMed, PsycINFO, Social Sciences Citation Index and CINAHL for peer-reviewed journal articles that discussed plasma donation and the factors associated with donor behaviour. Pertinent information from included articles was extracted and arranged in themes.

RESULTS

In total, 33 articles were included in this review. Three main themes were identified by the authors. The first focused on site-level factors related to blood collection agencies' engagement with plasma donors and their influence on plasma donation experiences. The second theme considered how individual characteristics and experiences influence willingness to donate plasma. The third theme examined social and cultural-level factors, such as how social networks and community shape perceptions and experiences with donation.

CONCLUSION

Our findings suggest that the current understanding of plasma donation is focused mainly on converting whole blood donors and also centres on individual-level factors to donation. Further research must examine what factors attract non-whole blood donors to become plasma donors, focusing on broader social-level influences. This review will inform policies and interventions for blood collection agencies to increase plasma donors.

How to convert whole‐blood donors to plasma donors: An investigation of the mechanisms of awareness of need for plasma and donors' perception of response efficacy

BACKGROUND

Blood donation services need to increase plasma donations to match the rising demand. However, evidence on how to best recruit donors among whole-blood donors is limited. Therefore, this study evaluated the effectiveness of a conversion strategy based on two different mechanisms that drive donor behavior: (a) awareness of the need for plasma donation and (b) perception of response efficacy regarding plasma donation.

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS

An online experiment with 246 German Red Cross whole-blood donors (possibility of plasma donation, blood group AB) was conducted using a 2 × 2 factorial, between-subject setup, and a pre-post treatment measurement. The mechanisms varied and were addressed with experimental treatments and measured. Analyses of variance and hierarchical regression models were used to analyze the effects on intention and behavior.

RESULTS

The intention to donate plasma was low, but increased with treatment (mean value_overall of intention_{beforeTreatment}  = 2.63, SD = 1.73 vs. intention_{afterTreatment}  = 3.28, SD = 1.92). Furthermore, 31% of participants expressed willingness to be forwarded to the appointment-scheduling system of the blood donation service for further information. Only the mechanism of response efficacy was significantly associated with the intention to donate plasma (β_Efficacy  = .254, p = .001; β_{Awareness of Need}  = .126, p = .070).

DISCUSSION

A conversion strategy based on making donors aware of their response efficacy is a promising way to optimize donor panels by shifting them to where they have the greatest impact. However, this study also substantiates the difficulty of such an effort. Blood donation services should invest in persuasion efforts and build personalized integrated marketing communications.

Understanding the experiences of plasma donors in Canada's new source plasma collection centres during COVID-19: A qualitative study

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

To address a national concern over the sufficiency of plasma, Canadian Blood Services (CBS) initiated a proof-of-concept programme with three new source plasma collection centres, aiming to demonstrate a cost-effective template for future source plasma collection and to alleviate the concerns and risks associated with the dependence on the United States. This study uses social capital as a framework to assess the success of the proof-of-concept collection centres.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

One-hundred and one qualitative interviews with source plasma donors in three new source plasma centres in Canada were carried out.

RESULTS

CBS played a critical role in motivating whole-blood donors to switch to plasma donation by building on their identity as a donor and facilitating access. Community was central to ensuring that donors returned. The importance of the social network was apparent through relationships participants developed with staff and through the relationships that staff had with each other. Donors wanted to understand more about the uses of plasma so that they could promote donation through their social networks outside the centre.

CONCLUSION

Campaigns to convert existing blood donors to plasma donors should build on their identity as a donor and structure the centre as a safe and welcoming place. To retain donors, blood collection agencies should emphasize community by facilitating staff ability to work well together and connect with the donor. Blood operators have the potential to expand existing social networks and foster trust through the dissemination of knowledge about plasma more broadly in more diverse communities.

A review of whole-blood donors' willingness, motives, barriers and interventions related to donating another substance of human origin

Diversification of blood collection agencies' (BCAs) core business requires donors to donate substances of human origin (SoHO) beyond whole-blood. Whole-blood donors are assumed to be willing to convert to donate other SoHO as well as whole-blood. However, no reviews consider the evidence on conversion (i.e., willingness/intention, behaviour, retention, attrition). This rapid review provides a narrative synthesis of whole-blood donors' conversion to another SoHO, characteristics contributing to conversion, motives and deterrents, and interventions encouraging conversion. Sixty-five studies were reviewed. Most were cross-sectional and examined whole-blood donor conversion to organ (willingness/pledge for deceased donation), plasma or stem cell donation. Most examined conversion rather than characteristics contributing to conversion, motives, deterrents or interventions. Whole-blood donors appear willing to donate another SoHO, yet conversion rates are unclear. Besides self-efficacy, there is little consistency in reported characteristics of donors converting, and few theories applied to understand characteristics encouraging conversion. Intrinsic (altruism, self-esteem, curiosity) and extrinsic (perceived need, service experience, direct requests) motives and barriers (lifestyle, fearing reduced health) appear important and require further research. Interventions encouraging conversion need replication and may include in-person, in-centre approaches, raising awareness of the functional benefits of other SoHO (high need, usefulness), and developing promotional materials that pique donors' curiosity, invite questions, and encourage donor-initiated conversations about conversion. Centralising BCAs as a single business or partnering with other organisations appears mutually beneficial to encourage conversion and sustainable panels/resources. Research is needed to understand the impact of encouraging conversion on donors and organisations, and identify optimal management strategies for multi-SoHO donors.

Stepping Stones or Second Class Donors?: a qualitative analysis of gay, bisexual, and queer men's perspectives on plasma donation policy in Canada

Background

Men who have sex with men (MSM) are not eligible to donate blood or plasma in Canada if they have had sex with another man in the last 3 months. This time-based deferment has reduced since 2013; from an initial lifetime ban, to five-years, one-year, and now three-months. Our previous research revealed that gay, bisexual, queer, and other MSM (GBM) supported making blood donation policies gender-neutral and behaviour-based. In this analysis, we explored the willingness of Canadian GBM to donate plasma, even if they were not eligible to donate blood.

Methods

We conducted in-depth interviews with 39 HIV-negative GBM in Vancouver (n = 15), Toronto (n = 13), and Montreal (n = 11), recruited from a large respondent-driven sampling study called Engage. Men received some basic information on plasma donation prior to answering questions. Transcripts were coded in NVivo following inductive thematic analysis.

Results

Many GBM expressed a general willingness to donate plasma if they became eligible; like with whole blood donation, GBM conveyed a strong desire to help others in need. However, this willingness was complicated by the fact that most participants had limited knowledge of plasma donation and were unsure of its medical importance. Participants’ perspectives on a policy that enabled MSM to donate plasma varied, with some viewing this change as a “stepping stone” to a reformed blood donation policy and others regarding it as insufficient and constructing GBM as “second-class” donors. When discussing plasma, many men reflected on the legacy of blood donor policy-related discrimination. Our data reveal a significant plasma policy disjuncture—a gulf between the critical importance of plasma donation from the perspective of Canada’s blood operators and patients and the feelings of many GBM who understood this form of donation as less important.

Conclusions

Plasma donor policies must be considered in relation to MSM blood donation policies to understand how donor eligibility practices are made meaningful by GBM in the context of historical disenfranchisement. Successful establishment of a MSM plasma donor policy will require extensive education, explicit communication of how this new policy contributes to continued/stepwise reform of blood donor policies, and considerable reconciliation with diverse GBM communities.

Determinants of plasma donation: A review of the literature

The major contribution of Human Sciences in the understanding of the whole blood donation behavior has been through the study of individuals' motivations and deterrents to donate. However, if whole blood donation has been very widely studied in the last sixty years, we still know very little about plasma donation in voluntary non-remunerated environments. Yet, the need for plasma-derived products has been strongly increasing for some years, and blood collection agencies have to adapt if they want to meet this demand. This article aims to review the main motivations and deterrents to whole blood donation, and to compare them with those that we already know concerning plasma donation. Current evidence shows similarities between both behaviors, but also differences that indicate a need for further research regarding plasma donation.

[Commitment in plasmapheresis donation: A study of determinants among regular donors in plasmapheresis]

The purpose of this study, based on the Theory of planned behavior, is to identify and ultimately better understand what determines the fidelity and the regularity of donors committed in plasmapheresis donation. This qualitative study is a primary stage to establish a classification of donors in a French socio-cultural context. For this reason, we have carried out a survey among 16 regular plasmapheresis donors, by way of semi-structured individual interviews at the Établissement français du sang - Brittany. The level of commitment of these regular donors is considered as a level of appropriation. If subjective norms have initially influenced their decision to donate blood, no specific motivation has been highlighted for them to donate plasma except a generally favourable attitude towards the voluntary donation process. The perception of control over their environment is a variable which played a decisive role in the donor's intention to give, with little cost associated to plasmapheresis donation and recourse to internal causal explanations. A better comprehension of the plasmapheresis donors' determinants should lead us to a more efficient awareness of new potential donors, thereby enhancing recruitment and retention. Due to the increasing need for plasma-derived products, this study's ultimate issue is closely correlated both with ethical and socio-economic aspects. Following which, after analysing the results, a certain number of recommendations will be made.