Behavioral Approaches in Increasing Blood Donations

Abstract

In the United States, as well as other countries, there is a constant and pressing need for increasing the number of people who donate blood. Medical procedures require donated blood, and when shortages occur in different regions, the lives of numerous patients are endangered. Behavioral strategies, which include use of incentives, competition, and raffles, and the like, might be effective methodsfor motivating individuals to donate blood. This study examined the use of a variety of these types of strategies used by workers at United Blood Services. Organizations that had employed behavioral strategies were compared with other organizations that had not used these approaches. Significantly higher rates of donations were obtained in organizations that had used behavioral strategies. The implications of these findings are discussed.