Long-term return and donation pattern of those who begin donating at different ages: A retrospective cohort analysis of blood donors in Australia

Using competition for plasma donor recruitment and retention: An Australian university case study

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Using evidence from one Australian university's participation in the Vampire Cup (an 8-week national inter-university blood donation competition), this study aimed to (1) understand important motivators and successful promotional strategies driving engagement in the competition, and (2) determine the impact of competition on the recruitment and retention of young adult plasma donors.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We used a sequential explanatory mixed-methods design involving a self-administered survey (Study 1, n = 64) and four focus groups (Study 2, n = 20) with plasma donors aged 18-29 years who participated in the 2021 Vampire Cup. Also, we used a 12-month prospective comparative cohort analysis (Study 3) of those who did (n = 224 'competition donors') and did not (n = 448 control group) present to donate for the Vampire Cup.

RESULTS

Competition was a strong motivator, with 76% of survey participants donating to help their university win the Vampire Cup. The survey and focus groups suggested that successful engagement in the competition was due to peer-led recruitment, leveraging existing rivalries at both the inter- and intra-university level, and using prize draws to create an active online social community promoting blood donation. Competition donors donated plasma significantly more often during the competition but donated at similar rates after the competition, compared to the control group.

CONCLUSION

Rivalry-based competition strategies, combined with enthusiastic team leaders and an active social media community, can help to recruit, and retain, young adult plasma donors, and motivate an intermittent boost to donation frequency over a short period each year.

Prevalence of blood donation eligibility in Australia: A population survey

BACKGROUND

Reliable estimates of the population proportion eligible to donate blood are needed by blood collection agencies to model the likely impact of changes in eligibility criteria and inform targeted population-level education, recruitment, and retention strategies. In Australia, the sole estimate was calculated 10+ years ago. With several subsequent changes to the eligibility criteria, an updated estimate is required.

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS

We conducted a cross-sectional national population survey to estimate eligibility for blood donation. Respondents were aged 18+ and resident in Australia. Results were weighted to obtain a representative sample of the population.

RESULTS

Estimated population prevalence of blood donation eligibility for those aged 18-74 was 57.3% (95% CI 55.3-59.3). The remaining 42.7% (95% CI 40.7-44.7) were either temporarily (25.3%, 95% CI 23.5-27.2) or permanently ineligible (17.4%, 95% CI 16.1-18.9). Of those eligible at the time of the survey, that is, with the UK geographic deferral for variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease included, (52.9%, 95% CI 50.8-54.9), 14.2% (95% CI 12.3-16.3) reported donating blood within the previous 2 years. Eligibility was higher among men (62.6%, 95% CI 59.6-65.6) than women (52.8%, 95% CI 50.1-55.6). The most common exclusion factor was iron deficiency/anemia within the last 6 months; 3.8% (95% CI 3.2-4.6) of the sample were ineligible due to this factor alone.

DISCUSSION

We estimate that approximately 10.5 million people (57.3% of 18-74-year-olds) are eligible to donate blood in Australia. Only 14.2% of those eligible at the time of survey reported donating blood within the previous 2 years, indicating a large untapped pool of potentially eligible blood donors.