Donor recruitment is a vital step in blood transfusion and it must be executed efficiently to prevent scarcity in blood components. De Los Santos & Firmo (2019) states that despite including the discussion of blood donation in the curriculum in schools of developing countries, there is no significant increase in the amount of students donating blood. The involvement in practicing blood donation is quite low despite it being studied among students, even in the Philippines. If educating through school is not the most efficient way to encourage blood donors, then using social media is another stepping stool. Almost everyone is on social media these days including those from developing countries. Advertising through social media can help reach a larger audience as well as present the possible incentives as well (Inova, n.d.). Moreover, raffles and giveaways are also an effective way to catch the attention of the public. For example, in the USA, the American Red Cross provided a raffle on super bowl tickets (American Red Cross, 2024) and conducted a giveaway for Snoopy t-shirts for every person who donated blood (Asmelash, 2023). Given the situation of the citizens of the country, conducting a raffle on practical needs and providing useful giveaways are one of the best methods for blood donor recruitment in developing countries.

When it comes to screening the blood components to prevent infections and complications, the hospital must come up with a standard routine or procedure when it comes to screening in which a designated person, preferably the medical technology chief, is diligent in verifying the test results. Other than requiring the financial assistance of the government to provide for more reliable test kits, interprofessional communication within the hospital setting should also be considered. Gleeson et.al. (2020) states avoidable patient harm and mortality can be caused by miscommunication in healthcare. Without proper communication between the medical technologist and doctors making use of the blood components for their patients, the risk of blood incompatibility issues are increased.

References:

American Red Cross (2022). Redcrossblood.org. https://www.redcrossblood.org/local-homepage/events/super_bowl.html

Asmelash, L. (2023, April 12). A Red Cross Snoopy T-shirt is going viral. It’s prompting more young people to donate blood. CNN. https://edition.cnn.com/2023/04/12/us/snoopy-red-cross-shirt-blood-donors-wellness-cec/index.html

De Los Santos, J. A. A., & Firmo, C. N. (2019). KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE AND PRACTICE ON BLOOD DONATION AMONG UNIVERSITY STUDENTS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF LITERATURE. Malaysian Journal of Medical Research. https://doi.org/10.31674/mjmr.2019.v03i01.004L

Gleeson, L., O’Brien, G. L., O’Mahony, D., & Byrne, S. (2022). Interprofessional communication in the hospital setting : a systematic review of the qualitative literature. Journal of Interprofessional Care https://doi.org/10.1080/13561820.2022.2028746

Inova. (n.d.). Inova Blood Donor Services. https://www.inovablood.org/get-involved/host-a-blood-drive/recruitment-strategies/