During times of natural disasters such as the recent tornado in Oklahoma or unfortunate incidents such as the Boston Marathon bombing, unaffected individuals can do a lot to help. One noble thing to do is to donate blood to help victims who might need transfusion. While blood donation is a very easy process, the supply of donated blood during a crisis is often limited.
Blood donation can definitely give someone the fulfillment of being able to help but now some experts are asking if economic rewards can drive blood donations up.
Economists have conducted a study and concluded that incentives can do blood donation programs well. Legally, giving someone a form of reward for donating blood is permitted but it has not been the practice in recent times.
A declaration of the World Health Organization (WHO) expressed the belief of authorities that paid blood donation may affect sustainable collection from volunteers in the long run. WHO also said that paying individuals may affect the quality of blood donation. However, proponents of a study published in the latest issue of Science journal titled "Economic Rewards to Motivate Blood Donations" thinks otherwise.
"Blood supply shortages are a major health problem in developed countries and even more severe in lower-income regions," Nicola Lacetera from the University of Toronto, one of the authors of the study noted. The policy article centered on factors that might boost blood donations in areas that need them the most.
"Several contexts where individuals might respond to multiple motivations, intrinsic and extrinsic, and in investigating how these different motivations interplay. The case of blood donations is a relevant one," Lacetera added.
The authors of the study looked into different practices of blood donation and concluded that incentives such as free medical checkups and gift cards do not have a negative effect on the quality of donations. The economists suggested that when more units of blood are needed, offering rewards may be very useful. The study also found out that non-cash incentives of higher equivalent economic value gained more positive responses.
The study recommended that rewards should be given to every person who showed interest to donate and not just those who completed the blood donation process. This will ensure that people will not lie just to qualify as a donor.
While rewards may work, appeals for empathy and generosity will remain essential for blood donation programs.
