Giving Blood: The Institutional Making of Altruism (Routledge Studies in the Sociology of Health and Illness) by Johanne Charbonneau and André Smith

Author:Johanne Charbonneau and André Smith
Language: eng
Format: azw3
ISBN: 9781317424536
Publisher: Taylor and Francis
Published: 2015-07-24T04:00:00+00:00

The institutional conditions that promote blood donation

All the elements we have mentioned thus far underline the importance of the role of organizations in motivating individuals to donate blood and in encouraging them to take part in blood drives. Our analyses also revealed the presence of other important inducements, such as when organizations invite target populations to donate blood to meet specific needs for rare blood, as is the case for black communities and sickle-cell anemia (Tran et al. 2013). They also follow up with donors to remind them when it is time to make their next blood donation. Telephone recruitment services phone donors at the end of the 56-day waiting period or when rare blood from a specific donor is needed. Other methods are also used: donor cards, ads in the media, and small posters in the vicinity of blood drives. Forty-eight respondents (26%) mentioned the importance of such methods in motivating them to donate blood.

I don’t know if Héma-Québec has a record of all donors, with all their information. When they see that someone hasn’t donated often, they call you. So if it’s time for me to donate, they’ll call to remind me. But it’s not that they harass you either. It’s just a way to remind you [about it].

(Man of Chilean origin, 46 years old, regular donor, carpenter, E1)

It’s mainly because of the posters they put up everywhere at the college. They’re everywhere, and when you walk by sometimes, you can see that there are a lot of people.

(Man, 23 years old, no donations – 2 donation attempts, E2)

I keep my little card in my wallet, showing when I can donate next. If there’s a blood drive in the area, for sure I’ll go donate.

(Woman, 27 years old, regular donor, research professional, E2)

Sometimes they call me.… Often they suggest a nearby blood drive, I think that’s nice. Of course, for me, getting the call helps motivate me.… Basically I think they should really keep on calling people.

(Man, 27 years old, regular donor, student, E2)

As we have seen in the previous chapter, blood drive employees and volunteers are in large part responsible for donor satisfaction, other than regarding physical repercussions that may affect donor health (faintness, fainting, etc.).

Really nice. They gave me a “new donor” sticker and everyone was so nice to me. They explained everything and reassured me about all sorts of things. They’re doing tests. “Don’t worry, this won’t take long. Here’s what to do.” It was really great. There were nice ladies telling us stories and reading us the paper and our horoscopes.

(Woman, 21 years old, one donation, student, E3)

Employees are also responsible for properly managing cases of temporary deferrals as, when things do not go well, individuals will not show up again to donate blood.

To help reconcile the practice of blood donation with the multiple demands of everyday life, organizations also offer donors the possibility of making an appointment to donate blood. Some donors expressed a great deal of satisfaction with this arrangement, as it was the only way for them to incorporate blood donation into their personal schedules.

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