Understanding donation frequency: insights from current plasma donors

Abstract

Background and Objectives Encouraging existing plasma donors to donate more frequently is a key objective for blood donation services committed to expanding yield through voluntary non‐remunerated plasmapheresis donation. This requires an understanding of donors’ perspectives on their current donation practice and how this relates to their knowledge and beliefs about the need for plasma. To explore this, Australian plasma donors were interviewed about how they arrived at the frequency at which they donate. Materials and Methods Semi‐structured telephone interviews were conducted with 105 Australian plasmapheresis donors. Results Key themes identified were as follows: fitting donation into busy lives and how ideas about being an ongoing donor and the institutional context shaped their perspective on frequency; perceptions of the impact of donation on health; and wanting to make a greater contribution. Conclusion Experienced plasma donors work to maintain a donation practice in the context of busy lives often by adopting a flexible approach to donation frequency. Their knowledge of the contribution their donations make is key to their continued donation, yet most identified constraints to donating more frequently. Health concerns were a particular concern for some, and more research is needed to understand donors’ perspectives on the impact of donating on their health.

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

“…Consistent with Slootweg and colleagues [6], a small number of participants viewed being an anti‐D donor as an opportunity to make a bigger contribution as a donor because of who the recipient group was and the organizational need for anti‐D. This motivation may be similar to that identified in frequent plasma donors [13].…”

Potential therapeutic targets and promising drugs for combating SARS‐CoV‐2

“…If possible, this plasma can be transfused into other infected patients to help them overcome viral infections. As plasma donation is a mature technology, and plasma transfusion is also a part of routine medical care, this proposal is the simplest and most feasible treatment under consideration (Thorpe, Masser, Nguyen, & Davison, 2020). At the same time, we also need to consider that this proposal is not a long-term solution because the growing number of cases is far outpacing the speed of the recovery.…”

An Australian trial of the effectiveness of a discount reward to increase plasma donor retention and frequency of donation

“…In Australia, one example of a country with a voluntary, non‐remunerated plasma donation system, plasma can be donated as often as every 2 weeks, yet fewer than 60% of new donors return to donate. Those who return give on average 4·1 plasma donations each year, with 50% of donors giving fewer than three plasma donations per year [7]. This is suboptimal, as repeat donations are safer and more cost‐effective than the recruitment of new donors [8].…”

“…This is suboptimal, as repeat donations are safer and more cost‐effective than the recruitment of new donors [8]. Thorpe and colleagues found that most plasma donors adopt a flexible approach to donation frequency (only donating when it fits in their schedule) but also aspire to make more frequent donations [7]. Encouraging plasma donors to return to donate and donate more frequently are, therefore, important objectives for BCAs committed to improving plasma self‐sufficiency through voluntary non‐remunerated donations [9,10], and effective strategies to increase donation rates are required.…”

“…Charbonneau and colleagues suggested that plasma donors are driven more by benevolence (where both the donor and recipient benefit) than altruism, as apheresis plasma donation is more demanding than whole blood donation, requiring substantially more time [16]. Developing a sense of plasma donation as a meaningful practice is also important to retaining donors [7]. This presents an opportunity to bolster the acknowledgement of plasma donor contributions.…”