Factors Identified by Lapsed Donors that Might Influence Donor Return

Introduction: The Burlington Chapter of the American Red Cross estimates that 8,000 donors a year become "lapsed," or fail to return for further donation. To better target this population and retain current donors, it is essential to identify reasons for lapsed donation. Several studies have been conducted on the barriers to retaining blood donors, revealing these common factors: past physical reactions, convenience, previous deferrals, lack of awareness, medical reasons, time, satisfaction with the experience, too impersonal, and personal benefit. While many studies have identified reasons for lapsed donation, the majority have not used free text as their data source, have been conducted in a wide range of geographic locations not specific to Vermont residents, and have focused on reasons for discontinuing donations, rather than positive factors. Using free text limits the question bias and eliminates constraints that predefined answers enforce. In 2007, Balderama et alconducted a study identifying common motivations for donating blood, which included an unanalyzed free text portion. We used this free text to answer the question, “What factors identified by lapsed donors might influence donor return?”