Abstract
BackgroundRecruiting of sufficient numbers of donors of blood products is vital worldwide. In this study we assessed the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of telephone calls and SMS reminders for re-recruitment of inactive blood donors.MethodsThis single-centre, non-blinded, parallel randomised controlled trial in Guangzhou, China included 11,880 inactive blood donors whose last donation was between January 1 and June 30, 2014. The donors were randomly assigned to one of two intervention groups (telephone call or short message service [SMS] communications) or to a control group without intervention. SMS messages with altruistic appeal were adopted in the SMS group; in addition to altruistic appeal, reasons for deferral of blood donation were also asked in the telephone group. All participants were followed up for 1 year. The primary outcome was re-donation rate, and rates in different groups were compared by intention-to-treat (ITT) analysis and estimation of the average treatment effect on the treated (ATT). Secondary outcomes were the self-reported deterrents. Other outcomes included the re-donation interval, and the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of telephone calls and SMS reminders on re-recruitment.ResultsITT analysis revealed no significant differences in the re-donation rate among the three groups. ATT estimations indicated that among compliers, telephone calls significantly increased re-donation compared to both SMS reminders and no intervention. Donor return behaviour was positively associated with receiving reminders successfully, being male, older age, and previous donation history. The SMS reminder prompted donors to return sooner than no reminder within 6 months, and according to ICER calculations, SMS reminders were more cost-effective than telephone calls. Donors reported time constraints as the most main causes of self-deferral in the telephone group, and altruistic appeal had a positive effect on these donors.ConclusionsInterventions to reactivate inactive blood donors can be effective, with telephone calls prompting more donors to return but at a greater cost than SMS messages. SMS reminder with altruistic appeal can urge donors to re-donate sooner within 6 months than no reminder.Trial registrationNCT03366441 (Reactivation of Inactive Blood Donors). Retrospectively registered 4 December 2017.
Highlights
Recruiting of sufficient numbers of donors of blood products is vital worldwide
The age range for blood donors in mainland China is 18–55 years. Those aged above 50 years old were excluded from the screening based on the previous finding that most older individuals are unlikely to donate again due to physical reasons [28]
In the short message service (SMS) group, 79.3% participants received the message successfully, and 20.7% did not
Summary
Recruiting of sufficient numbers of donors of blood products is vital worldwide. Effective strategies for recruiting sufficient numbers of blood donors are critically needed. It has been widely established that repeat donors have a lower transfusion-transmissible infection risk [2], and this reduced risk is maintained in donors who have not donated blood for 5 years [3]. It is essential to determine effective methods for reactivating lapsed donors (defined as those who have made at least one donation within the last 24 months, but not within the previous 12 months) and inactive donors (those who have made at least one donation but have not donated within the previous 24 months) [9] in order to maintain an adequate blood supply
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