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Incentives for Plasma Donation in Europe

Koch, Elena; Leiße, Antonia; Veseli, Besarta; Jensen, Johannes; Spekman, Marloes; Merz, Eva-Maria; Shehu, Edlira; Thibert, Jean-Baptiste; Beurel-Trehan, Antoine; Leblond, Marion; Oesterer, Martin; Kluge, Philipp; Forioso, Donata; Clement, Michel

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: This work provides an overview of the incentives used for plasma donation in Europe and beyond. The overview can provide new ideas to blood establishments.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted a systematic online search of incentives used and asked national experts to validate the data across all EU countries and other European and non-European countries. We categorized the data at the level of incentive (using the Nuffield Council on Bioethics’ (2011) rungs) and country.

RESULTS: We analyzed more than 490 organizations across 26 countries. Our findings reveal the different incentives used in these countries. Snacks and pre-donation health checks are commonly provided. Additionally, loyalty and referral programs, small gifts, coupons, lotteries, travel compensations, and time off from work expand the strategic incentive portfolio. Only 7 countries offer financial compensation ranging from the equivalent of 10 to 35 Euros for European countries. Country group analysis offers valuable insights into the relationship between incentive strategy and the prevailing centralized vs. decentralize plasma collection model.

CONCLUSION: In countries with a decentralized model, where more than one organization collects plasma, we observe that more diversified incentive strategies are generally used, including monetary and non-monetary incentives. In countries with a centralized model, where one organization is allowed to collect plasma, financial compensation is usually not offered. Centralized plasma collection without financial compensation relies on a wider range of non-monetary incentives than with financial compensation. This overview provides a broader understanding of incentives used by blood establishments and offers avenues for future practice.

Keywords: Plasma collection, Europe, donor recruitment, incentives.

SUPPLY is a project co-funded by the European Union's EU4Health Programme that aims to increase and strengthen the resilience of plasma collection in the EU to enable a stable and adequate supply of Plasma-derived medicinal products (PDMPs). This study is part of the SUPPLY project and focuses on the role of monetary and non-monetary incentives used to collect plasma in the EU. Grant: 101056988/SUPPLY
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Access upon request (contact person: Prof. Dr. Michel Clement, michel.clement@uni-hamburg.de).


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