This study analyzed correlates of volunteer blood donation in two separate mass blood drives. It is based on data from 1.722 university students: 1,080 donors and 642 nondonors. Previous research on blood donor motivation has suggested that altruistic, humanitarian reasons are the chief motives for donation. Our study indicates virtually no association between donorship and altruism. Donors were more responsive to social pressure and incentives and less impeded by a free-rider tendency and the costs of giving than were nondonors.
In this study responses of first-time donors were compared to those of repeating donors. Veteran donors were much less reluctant toward giving blood and anticipated much less difficulty. Veteran donors are much more susceptible to blood bank solicitations. Neophyte donors were influenced by friends to give blood to a greater degree. I t would appear from the data that to recruit a donor the first time the most effective means would be a personal request or urging by friends. After he has given once, however, the donor is induced effectively to continue giving by less personal appeals. Veteran donors possess more accurate knowledge about blood banking and the transfusion process. Neophyte donors are bothered more significantly by the pain involved in giving blood. The veteran g~o u p contained a significantly larger proportion of men. The neophytes were more likely to be younger, unmarried, part-time or not employed, and engaged in blue-collar occupations.THE general hypothesis to which this study addressed itself was the following: T h e procliuity of a potential donor toward giving blood is dependent upon (1) his degree of personal readiness; (2) the conduciveness of his sociocultural environment to giving; and ( 3 ) the Perceiued benefit of the act of giving blood.
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