The findings of this review can be used as a starting point to develop recruitment and retention strategies for Sub-Saharan African persons. Further research is needed to gain more insight in the role of these determinants in specific contexts as socioeconomic features, personal histories and host country regulations may differ per country.

We found that the stopping reasons for blood donors are dependent on gender, age and the number of donations. Stopping reasons differ substantially from barriers experienced by current, lapsed and non-donors. More research on preventing negative physical experiences and implementing more flexible opening hours are advised.

African migrants are underrepresented as blood donors in many Western countries, which can lead to shortages of specific blood types for transfusion. More insight in the reasons for this underrepresentation is required to improve blood donor recruitment and retention strategies. The aim of this qualitative study was to explore barriers and motivators for donating blood among migrants of African background. The research population consisted of first and second generation African‐Surinamese (n = 20) and Ghanaian (n = 16) migrants living in the Netherlands. In semi‐structured personal interviews performed in 2016 and 2017, their experiences and opinions regarding blood donation, barriers, and motivators to (not) become a blood donor and their suggestions to improve recruitment were explored. Data collection was continued until data saturation was achieved. The interviews revealed that although all participants knew about blood donation in general, only four had previously heard of the Dutch national blood bank organisation. Participants expected that if blood was needed, the blood bank would directly approach them, as in their country of origin. Other main blood donation barriers were fear (e.g., of needles, losing too much blood) and issues related to health and non‐eligibility to donate. Main motivators were mainly of altruistic nature (e.g., saving a life) and an increased awareness of the need via personal recruitment appeals. It is concluded that expectations regarding donor recruitment—derived from the country of origin—and unawareness of the need for blood can act as important barriers in blood donation among African migrants. Contrary to studies in the United States and Australia, perceived discrimination and social exclusion did not seem to be a donation deterrent among migrants in the Netherlands. Creating awareness of the need of blood by actively approaching, and informing migrants about the donation procedure in the host country, should be considered by blood banks.

ConclusionOur results showed proportional differences in how people from different sex, age and ethnicity are recruited, and how recruitment relates to donor loyalty. We advocate for more personalized, evidence-based recruitment and retention strategies.

Background and objectives. Blood donor populations have been susceptible to change, often showing

Background and ObjectivesMigrant blood donors are underrepresented worldwide resulting in shortages of compatible blood products. Prior studies focused on individual barriers and motivators of potential blood donors, but no studies addressed organisational factors of the blood supply chain. This study explored the perceptions and experiences in recruitment and retention of migrant – and potentially rare‐blood donors among staff members within the blood supply chain and identified obstacles and solutions in this chain.Materials and MethodsThe study was conducted at Sanquin, the national blood supply organisation of the Netherlands. Qualitative in‐depth interviews were done among key staff members (N = 17). Expert validity was assessed in three feedback meetings.ResultsSeven staff members believed there is a shortage of migrant blood donors, while five believed there is not. However, there was a consensus that it may become a problem in the future due to demographic changes. The perceived obstacles to recruit and retain migrant donors were difficulties in determining how many migrant donors are needed and recruiting them, excluding potentially rare donors prior to donation, limited use of extended phenotyping and high blood typing and frozen storage costs. The possible solutions to increase blood pool diversity lay in registering donor ethnicity, specialised information provision for donors, reconsidering eligibility criteria and optimising blood typing strategies.ConclusionWhilst recruitment of migrant blood donors is perceived by staff as difficult, various organisational policies and guidelines seem to hinder retention. Improvements in the blood supply chain may be achieved by addressing logistics, current procedures and registration of ethnicity.

Background and objectives Many Western countries face a shortage of African blood donors, while their specific blood groups are needed to transfuse chronic transfusion patients of similar ethnic background. Blood donation awareness and attitudes greatly impact the decision to become a blood donor, but how they are related and differ across ethnic groups is understudied. This study investigated blood donation awareness and attitudes of individuals of Dutch and African descent in the Netherlands.Materials and methods Survey data of 257 African and 152 Dutch non-donors measuring donation awareness (i.e. being familiar with the Dutch blood bank organization and knowing others who donated blood), cognitive (evaluative judgements) and affective (emotional reactions) attitudes were included. t-Tests, chi-square tests, linear and logistic regressions were conducted to study differences and associations between donation awareness and attitudes.Results African individuals were less often aware of the Dutch blood bank organization (43%; p < 0Á05) or others who donated blood (51%; p < 0Á05) than Dutch individuals (55% and 68%, respectively). African individuals had lower cognitive donation attitudes compared with Dutch individuals (p < 0Á001), but no differences were found for affective attitudes (p = 0Á55). High donation awareness was associated with higher cognitive (p < 0Á001) and affective (p < 0Á05) donation attitudes among African minorities, but not among Dutch individuals. ConclusionThe lower donation awareness and cognitive attitudes of African minorities should be taken into consideration in donor recruitment. Raising awareness through effective communication strategies might be essential in the donor decision making process of this target group.

Background and objectives Blood donors of African descent are essential for the availability of specific antigen-negative blood, yet past recruitment strategies yielded limited successes. The aim was to systematically develop an intervention to recruit African blood donors in the Netherlands, following the Intervention Mapping (IM) protocol. Materials and methodsBased on the previous needs-assessment (Step 1), change objectives (Step 2) and practical strategies (Step 3) were developed, and further determined through eight interviews and two focus groups with blood bank staff and experts. The strategies were then translated into a magazine article pilot-experiment (n = 16) as part of the programme production (Step 4). The magazine appraisal and intention-change were studied of the target group and compared with a previously published magazine article and a control group in an online survey.Results Important factors in the needs-assessment related to donation awareness and knowledge and were also rated by staff and experts as most relevant and feasible determinants. The finalized objectives and strategies consisted of awareness raising and understanding how and where to donate blood. In the magazine pilot, the look and feel of the previously published article was higher valued, but the newly developed article's content was higher rated. Reading the magazine articles increased donation intention as compared to the pre-test and reference, but the increase did not differ between the articles.Conclusion IM helped to define intervention objectives and strategies and gave valuable insights in how to implement (step 5) and evaluate (step 6) a donor recruitment intervention.