EFFECTS OF NEW BROCHURES ON BLOOD-DONOR RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION

Background: Currently, donors may arrive at blood collection sites wit hout prior knowledge of eligibility and deferral criteria. Study Desig n and Methods: The effects of distributing newly developed recruitment brochures 2 weeks in advance of blood drives and the provision of bro chures on temporary deferral at the taking of health history were exam ined in four southeastern regional blood collection centers. Twenty-fo ur similar pairs of worksites, with employee-only recruitment, were ra ndomly assigned to a control (C) or experimental (E) group. Informatio n about sponsor recruitment strategies, worksite factors, and first-ti me, repeat, and temporarily deferred donors was obtained at three coll ection drives per site over a 1-year period. Drive 1 was used as a bas eline. Two weeks before Drives 2 and 3, the recruitment brochures were distributed to all Group E employees, with temporary deferral brochur es provided as needed when the health history was taken. Results: No s ignificant differences between groups or drives were found in the tota l percentage of employees recruited or returning as a result of recrui tment or deferral brochure distribution (Wilcoxon's signed rank test a nd t test). Substantiating previous observations by donor recruiters, the study results showed decreased donations during vacation periods a nd busier times at the workplace. Loudspeaker announcements led to dec reased donations; increased donations followed special appeals in rela tion to a specific patient, an accident, or a natural disaster. Conclu sion: The brochures may have encouraged previous donors to return, but their use did not significantly increase the recruitment of new donor s or the return of temporarily deferred donors.