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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Whitney Randolph Steele, PhD, MPH, George B. Schreiber, ScD, Simone Glynn, MD, MPH, and David J. Wright, PhD. Westat, 1650 Research Blvd., Rockville, MD 20850, 240-314-7509, whitneysteele@westat.com

The public expects that a safe and plentiful supply of blood will be available when needed, but in the United States the reality is that there are frequent shortages. As evidenced by the small percentage of individuals who actually give blood, most people do not feel the need to donate to ensure that blood is available. Previous studies of blood donor motivations have often concluded that donors give blood because of “altruistic” motives. However, no previous studies have attempted to quantify altruism or other prosocial personality characteristics in donors and relate these inherent qualities to actual donation behavior. Data from the self-administered 2003 Retrovirus Epidemiology Donor Study (REDS) survey of 12,064 blood donors was used to calculate altruistic behavior, empathetic concern and social responsibility motivation scores for each donor. The relationship between each of these scores and the outcome variable, number of donations in the past 5 years, was examined in models adjusted for demographics. Donors who reported higher levels of altruistic behaviors and greater motivation to donate for social responsibility reasons gave more frequently (all p<0.0001). Empathetic concern was not related to donation frequency. As previously shown, minorities, women and younger donors were significantly less likely to be frequent donors (p<0.0001). Thus, appealing to people's sense of social responsibility and their desire to perform altruistic behaviors may be important factors in recruiting donors and maintaining the U.S. blood supply.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, participants will be able to

• Recognize the relationship between an adequate blood supply and a prepared public health infastructure.
• Describe the common demographic characteristics of the blood donor population.
• Discuss the role that prosocial personality characteristics such as altruism and social responsibility might play in motivating blood donation.
• Apply this knowledge toward creating programs to encourage blood donation and thus ensure a safe, consistent blood supply.

Keywords: Public Health Infrastructure, Access to Care

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation