Community attitudes to remunerated blood donation in Australia: results from a national telephone survey

SUMMARY Background Blood in Australia is sourced through voluntary, non‐remunerated donations. With periodic shortages in supply, increasing demand for blood products and a donor base that is perceived to be unsustainable, remuneration has been proposed as a means to improve donation rates. Objective To examine community attitudes to remunerated blood donation in Australia. Method A national random telephone survey of Australian adults age 18–70 was conducted ( n = 1024). Associations were tested using a chi‐square (χ 2 ) test for linear distribution. Results Reimbursement for the cost of travel to donate blood was supported by more respondents (46%) than reimbursement for time (19%). Non‐donors were more likely to support a payment compared to donors ( P = 0·002). Twelve per cent of respondents thought they would be more likely to donate if remunerated while 10% thought they would be less likely. The majority (76%) thought that a payment would not change whether or not they would donate, while 85% thought that it would make other people more likely to donate. The average amount considered to be reasonable reimbursement was AU $30. Conclusion Despite the common perception that other people would be motivated to donate blood with the introduction of a financial incentive, remuneration may provide minimal incentive in Australia and is unlikely to increase donor participation for the time being.