ABSTRACT
Finding effective ways to recruit blood donors is vitally important in the context of a rising demand for blood due to an aging population, strict donor deferral criteria, and the limited shelf life of blood products (Drackley et al. 2012; Riley et al. 2007). Researchers addressing this issue have overwhelmingly focused on the behavioural and psychological characteristics of donors in their efforts to determine what motivates some individuals and not others to donate (Crawford et al. 2008; Piliavin and Callero 1991; Reich et al. 2006; Shaz et al. 2009). Much less attention has been devoted to the influence of social contexts, although we know from epidemiological research that blood donation rates vary significantly by community; ethnic groups have different donation rates; and there is a relationship between age, gender, education, social class, occupation, religion, and blood donation (Alessandrini 2007; Zou et al. 2008). We know even less about the organizational factors that influence blood donation, including the role of blood collection agencies in leveraging social resources to recruit and retain donors.
