How can we encourage our voluntary non-remunerated donors to donate more frequently?

A Markov jump process approach to modeling blood donor status: Donor retention and attrition rates at a blood service center in Zimbabwe

Background

Blood service agencies depend upon the availability of regular blood donors for sustainability. The knowledge and understanding of the stochastic behavior of donors is the first step toward sustaining the blood supply. Analyzing the changes in the donor status within the donor pool will help the blood service authorities to manage the blood donation process.

Objectives

The study presents a multistate Markov jump model in analyzing the changes in blood donor status during their blood donation career. Relevant covariates are used to aid in explaining the transitions.

Materials and Methods

The status of a blood donor i that can be in one of four states S = {1; 2; 3; 4}. A new donor (s = 1), repeat/regular donor (s = 2), occasional donor (s = 3), and lapsed donor (s = 4). A Continuous‐time Markov model was used to estimate blood donor progression during their blood donation career. Frequencies of blood donations made in a given time interval determines the state occupied.

Results

In the early years of blood donation career, first‐time donors have a higher likelihood of becoming regular donors. Donor attrition increases with time whilst donor retention decreases with time. The results show that when the jump process is currently in an occasional state, the probability that it moves into lapsed state when it leaves the occasional state is given as 69.06%. Similarly, donors are forecasted to spend 21.193 months (1.8 years) in the occasional state before lapsing. Repeat donors can spend 39.342 months (3.3 years) in the regular state before the transition to other states. The study established that donor‐specific demographic factors such as age and gender are critical in donor status transitions.

Conclusions

With the passage of time, donor status evolves, with trend inclined towards reduction in the frequency of blood donations as more donors become inactive or lapsed. The transition of donors in various states can be described by a time homogeneous Markov model.

"Please help us with important research": A retrospective analysis examining the impact of research invitation and participation on subsequent blood donor behavior

BACKGROUND

As over-communication can negatively impact consumer behavior, it is important to understand the impact of research communication on donors' future donation behavior. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of (i) being invited to participate in research, and (ii) participating in that research, on future donation behavior.

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS

A retrospective cohort analysis was conducted with 36,418 donors who were invited to participate in one of 17 research projects, and a matched control group of 36,252 non-invited donors. Poisson regression models were used to examine the associations between invitation or participation in the studies and the likelihood of creating an appointment to donate and attending an appointment at 1, 3, and 6 months.

RESULTS

Donors were significantly more likely to create an appointment within 14 days of receiving an invitation compared to controls (RR: 1.91, 95% CI 1.81-2.02), and to return to donate at 1 (RR:1.18, 95% CI 1.13-1.24), 3 (RR:1.10, 95% CI 1.07-1.13) and 6 (RR:1.11, 95% CI 1.09-1.13) months compared to non-invited controls. Donors who participated in the research were more likely to return than control donors at all time points, while donors who were invited but did not participate were also likely to return more at 1 month (RR:1.06, 95% CI 1.00-1.11) and 6 months (RR:1.03, 95% CI 1.00-1.5) than non-invited controls.

DISCUSSION

Our findings suggest that research participation is positively associated with future donor behavior and provides reassurance that contacting donors for research does not negatively impact blood collections.

It is about who you know (and how you help them): Insights from staff and donors about how to recruit and retain a panel of committed anti-D donors

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Maintaining a panel of committed anti-D donors is crucial for the production of anti-D immunoglobulin to prevent haemolytic disease of the foetus and newborn. Given low numbers of donors in the Australian panel, there is a need to better understand motivators and barriers specific to anti-D donors.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A qualitative approach was used to gather perspectives of staff and current anti-D donors in Australia. Focus groups were held with staff involved with the anti-D programme. An asynchronous online discussion forum and interviews were conducted with donors. All data were coded using deductive and inductive thematic analysis.

RESULTS

Staff stressed the importance of recruiting donors who met their own informal criteria as well as the formal selection criteria in order to maximize the chances of donors committing to making regular plasma donations. In contrast, donors were motivated by having a personal connection to anti-D, the recipient group and being eligible to join the programme. Support from staff and understanding the value of their donations also helped donors overcome concerns about the risks of joining the programme and reduced barriers to remaining in the programme.

CONCLUSION

Anti-D donors in Australia are motivated by multiple factors, including knowing who the recipient is, and dedicated staff are integral to building donors' commitment through education and support. Findings suggest the current approach to recruitment could be broadened to include all donors who meet formal selection criteria, with retention enhanced by reinforcing and rewarding the motives identified by donors for donating.