Abstract
Introduction
Volunteering presupposes having free time and refers to the provision of services
without the motivation of material reward, for the benefit of society. In this study,
we aimed to provide insight into the impact of economic crisis on blood donors and
their motivation to donate blood during that period.
Study Design and Methods
We asked blood donors about their blood donation activity and motivation to donate
using a standardized, anonymous questionnaire (n = 3000). Descriptive analysis was
performed for the consideration of donor turnout during this economic period. The
results were analyzed using the χ2 test and Spearman’s correlation coefficient.
Results
Regarding gender, 68.2% were males, while 31.8% were females. Most blood donors donated
voluntarily (75.8%) and only 24.2% were replacement or family blood donors. The economic
crisis has affected the inhabitants of Athens more than the inhabitants of the province
(χ2 = 9.910,p = 0.007). The influence of economic crisis on the regular blood donors’
quality of life was greater than the non-regular donors (χ2 = 16.227,p < 0.001). According to our results, the economic crisis reduced the quality
of life, but it did not affect the frequency of blood donations in a percentage of
87,3%. Not any significant difference was found between employment status, economic
crisis and blood donation.
Conclusion
Although the economic crisis has affected the lives of blood donors, it does not seem
to affect the frequency of blood donation. We suggest that blood collection services
should consider specialist campaigns that focus on the altruistic motivation of donors
during an economic crisis.
Keywords
To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
Purchase one-time access:
Academic & Personal: 24 hour online accessCorporate R&D Professionals: 24 hour online accessOne-time access price info
- For academic or personal research use, select 'Academic and Personal'
- For corporate R&D use, select 'Corporate R&D Professionals'
Subscribe:
Subscribe to Transfusion and Apheresis ScienceAlready a print subscriber? Claim online access
Already an online subscriber? Sign in
Register: Create an account
Institutional Access: Sign in to ScienceDirect
References
- Physical abuse in the era of financial crisis in Greece.Ann Transl Med. 2017; 5: 155
- Financial crisis and austerity measures in Greece: their impact on health promotion policies and public health care.Health Policy. 2013; 113: 8-12
- Criminality in Greece during the years of financial crisis: 2008-2014.Psychiatriki. 2018; 29: 19-24
- Money, schooling, and health: mechanisms and causal evidence.Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2010; 1186: 56-68
- Understanding and assessing the motivations of volunteers: a functional approach.J Pers Soc Psychol. 1998; 74: 1516-1530
- Blood donation is an act of benevolence rather than altruism.Health Psychol. 2008; 27: 327-336
- The psychology of blood donation: current research and future directions.Transfus Med Rev. 2008; 22: 215-233
- New donors, loyal donors, and regular donors: which motivations sustain blood donation?.Transfus Apher Sci. 2015; 52: 339-344
- Economic crisis and blood donation: how are donors’ motivations changing?.Transfus Apher Sci. 2016; 54: 396-400
- Attitudes and behaviours of Greeks concerning blood donation: recruitment and retention campaigns should be focused on need rather than altruism.Blood Transfus. 2014; 12: 320-329
- Knowledge about umbilical cord blood banking among Greek citizens.Blood Transfus. 2014; 12: s353-s360
- Greece: health system review.Health Syst Transit. 2017; 19: 1-166
- Financial crisis and criminality in Greece: 2008 vs 2011.Psychiatriki. 2016; 27: 54-57
- Cost-benefit analysis.BMJ. 1993; 307: 924-926
- [Family assistance and the cost of children].Econ Stat. 1987; 61–7: 8
- Temporary employment, work stress and mental health before and after the Spanish economic recession.Int Arch Occup Environ Health. 2019; 92: 1047-1059
- Quality-of-life and spirituality.Int Rev Psychiatry. 2017; 29: 263-282
- Relational spirituality and quality of life 2007 to 2017: an integrative research review.Health Qual Life Outcomes. 2018; 16: 75
- Studies of the inner life: the impact of spirituality on quality of life.Qual Life Res. 2003; 12: 51-57
- Voluntary non-remunerated blood donation and reasons for donating: is there room for philosophy?.Blood Transfus. 2014; 12: s404-s405
- Organ donation during the financial crisis in Greece.Lancet. 2016; 387: 1511-1512
- Transplantation crisis at the time of economic recession in Greece.Public Health. 2018; 160: 125-128
- Social action in young adults: voluntary and political engagement.J Adolesc. 2012; 35: 497-507
- Considerations of community: the context and process of volunteerism.Am Behav Sci. 2002; 45: 846-867
- Defining and measuring blood donor altruism: a theoretical approach from biology, economics and psychology.Vox Sang. 2014; 106: 118-126
- Predictors of future behaviour: A review of the psychological literature on blood donation.British Journal of Health Psychology. 1996; 1: 287-308https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8287.1996.tb00510.x
- Sustained helping without obligation: motivation, longevity of service, and perceived attitude change among AIDS volunteers.J Pers Soc Psychol. 1995; 68: 671-686
- Gender differences in giving blood: a review of the literature.Blood Transfus. 2010; 8: 278-287
- Where have all the donors gone? A personal reflection on the crisis in America’s volunteer blood program.Transfusion. 2003; 43: 273-279
Article info
Publication history
Published online: May 21, 2022
Accepted:
May 18,
2022
Received in revised form:
May 11,
2022
Received:
January 3,
2022
Identification
Copyright
© 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
