Blood donor motivators during the COVID-19 pandemic

While donating blood during the COVID-19 pandemic offers individuals a possibility to contribute to their community, donation also exposes donors to additional risks, as physical distancing is impossible during a donation. This study explored what motivated blood and plasma donors in the Netherlands to donate during the COVID-19 pandemic, in order to identify potential focus points for donor recruitment in future crises. In total, 3175 of the invited 7286 donors who donated between 1 and 14 April 2020 participated in an online questionnaire including questions about motivations for blood donation. Motivations for blood donation were compared among donation types, sexes, age groups, and regions. Respondents consisted of 10.6% new, 18.9% whole blood, and 70.5% plasma donors. About 80% of all donors indicated wanting to help COVID-19 patients. Particularly whole blood donors were motivated by a call for donations (90.8%). Plasma donors more often hoped to get tested for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies than new and whole blood donors. Older donors (aged ≥40) more often reported hoping to get tested for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, wanting to help COVID-19 patients, and thinking that getting infected during the donation process was impossible. Younger donors (aged ≤39) more often indicated that getting out of the house and not having to go to work motivated them to donate. Donors mainly had pro-social motivations to donate during the COVID-19 pandemic, as helping COVID-19 patients was the most important motivator. This shows the promise of explicitly expressing need in times of crisis, for blood banks in particular and philanthropic organizations in general.