Motivation and social capital among prospective blood donors in three large blood centers in Brazil

Abstract

Background Studies analyzing motivation factors that lead to blood donation have found altruism to be the primary motivation factor; however social capital has not been analyzed in this context. Our study examines the association between motivation factors (altruism, self-interest and response to direct appeal) and social capital (cognitive and structural) across three large blood centers in Brazil. Study Design and Methods We conducted a cross-sectional survey of 7,635 donor candidates from October 15 through November 20, 2009. Participants completed self-administered questionnaires on demographics, previous blood donation, HIV testing and knowledge, social capital and donor motivations. Enrollment was determined prior to the donor screening process. Results Among participants, 43.5% and 41.7% expressed high levels of altruism and response to direct appeal respectively, while only 26.9% expressed high levels of self-interest. More high self-interest was observed at Hemope-Recife (41.7%). Of participants, 37.4% expressed high levels of cognitive social capital while 19.2% expressed high levels of structural social capital. More high cognitive and structural social capital was observed at Hemope-Recife (47.3% and 21.3%, respectively). High cognitive social capital was associated with high levels of altruism, self-interest and response to direct appeal. Philanthropic and high social altruism was associated with high levels of altruism and response to direct appeal. Conclusion Cognitive and structural social capital and social altruism are associated with altruism and response to direct appeal, while only cognitive social capital is associated with self-interest. Designing marketing campaigns with these aspects in mind may help blood banks attract potential blood donors more efficiently.

Comparison of the demographic and social profile of blood donors and nondonors in Brazil

“…Studies on blood donor profiles in the Brazilian populations (Carneiro‐Proietti et al, ; Goncalez et al, ; Gonçalez et al, ) indicate that individuals more likely to donate blood tend to be male, younger age group, with high economic and educational level (Carneiro‐Proietti et al, ; Gonçalez et al, ; Moreno et al, ; Zago et al, ). In our study, blood donation was more frequent among males and higher socioeconomic and educational level, in line with other studies (Moreno et al, ; Silva et al, ; Zago et al, ).…”

Does Social Capital Explain Community‐Level Differences in Organ Donor Designation?

“…For the purposes of our study, we relied on Putnam's conceptualization of social capital, namely, “features of social organization, such as networks, norms, and trust, that facilitate coordination and cooperation for mutual benefit.” (pp ‐ ) So conceived, social capital captures our sense of solidarity, moral obligations, and social values, and it drives voluntary and altruistic behavior. Social capital increases the probability of collective action by “increasing the potential costs to defectors…, fostering robust norms of reciprocity…, facilitating flows of information…, including information on actors’ reputations…, embodying the successes of past attempts of collaboration…, and acting as a template for future cooperation.” (pp173‐174) Organ donor designation relies on many motivations, most central perhaps being altruism and generalized reciprocity, the belief that helping a stranger in need may result in the help being returned during a time of need .…”

“…These groups establish and reinforce norms for reciprocity, trust, and participation. In the context of organ donation, these groups could establish norms for participating in the organ donation system and tailor messaging to address concerns unique to the community . Finally, community social capital can help mitigate negative perceptions of societal inequalities, such as low social mobility and adversarial out‐group dynamics.…”

“…Social capital and residential segregation also predict levels of social engagement . This includes donating to charity or volunteering, connectedness to friends and confidants, trust in local government and belief in one's own political influence, and work on community projects . Individuals living in poor and residentially segregated communities may be less likely to engage in collective action—in this case, designating themselves as organ donors—owing to less trust in their community and public programs.…”

Factors associated with positive attitude towards blood donation among medical students

“…A number of countries encounter major challenges in recruiting voluntary blood donors for transfusion services [2][3][4]. Previous studies reported that altruism, cognitive attitude, high level of selfefficacy, lower level of anxiety and previous blood donations were associated with a higher likelihood of becoming a blood donor [5][6][7][8][9].…”