Exploring ways to retain first-time volunteer blood donors

Because of their expertise in working with volunteers, social workers may b e called on to provide consultation to organizations that are nor tradition al social service agencies, Unpaid volunteer donors provide the vast majori ty of this country's blood supply; however; many donors give only once, and few think of themselves as regular; committed donors. The purpose of this study was to determine if special letters of request or incentives would in crease blood donations during a 14-month study period. One thousand first-t ime donors were randomly assigned to one of three intervention groups or th e control condition. On average, first-time donors gave 1.89 donations, and there were no statistically significant differences among the groups. The conclusion was drawn that the interventions were tao passive.