Although the WHO recommends that blood collection establishments (BCEs) rely on voluntary, non-remunerated donations, a new study recently published by the BEST Collaborative found that high-incentive gifts are commonly used by BCEs for whole blood donors in most parts of the world. Researchers used a multi-pronged approach which included surveys administered to BCEs in 63 countries on 6 continents and all 50 US states (2020 through 2023), integrating data from the WHO and a study from 2020 with incentive data from 17 countries, and web searches. Overall, some BCEs in 28/63 countries offered high-value incentives worth more than $10 USD (cash, tax benefits, healthcare supplements, vouchers, gift cards, raffles, etc.), and 23/46 counties offered paid time off work to donate whole blood. In the U.S., the most common high-value incentives given to whole blood donors were gift cards (16/48 BCEs), loyalty programs (16/48 BCEs), and raffles (28/48 BCEs); only Hawaii did not offer any high-value incentives. Incentives typically ranged from $10 to $15 USD, but raffle tickets for donating whole blood often had prizes worth more than $1,000 USD. Further studies on the effectiveness and consequences of incentives globally are needed for blood donors considering local cultures, especially in countries in the Southern Hemisphere where more data are needed.
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