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Voluntary whole-blood donors, and compensated platelet donors and plasma donors: motivation to donate, altruism and aggression.

Trimmel M, Lattacher H, Janda M

Medical University Vienna, OE Public Health, Unit for Environment and Health Psychology, Kinderspitalgasse 15, A-1095 Vienna, Austria. michael.trimmel@univie.ac.at

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: To establish if voluntary whole-blood donors and compensated platelet donors and plasma donors may differ in their motivation to donate, altruism, aggression and autoaggression. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Whole-blood (n=51), platelet (n=52) and plasma donors (n=48) completed a battery of validated questionnaires while waiting to donate. Bivariate and multivariate analyses of variance and t-tests were performed to detect differences between groups as noted. RESULTS: Altruism (mean=40.2) was slightly higher in whole-blood donors than in platelet (mean=38.3) and plasma donors (mean=39.1) (p=0.07). Blood donors (mean=2.8) scored lower in the spontaneous aggression measure than platelet (mean=4.1) and plasma donors (mean=4.4) (p=0.01). Plasma donors (mean=4.9) had higher auto-aggression than whole-blood donors and platelet donors (mean for both groups=3.4) (p=0.01). Differences between the three groups were mediated by sociodemographic variables (MANCOVA). Whole-blood donors donated to help others, platelet and plasma donors mostly to receive the compensation. However, those platelet and plasma donors, who would continue to donate without compensation were similar in altruism and aggression to whole-blood donors. CONCLUSION: While most platelet donors and plasma donors were motivated by the compensation, those who stated that they would continue to donate without compensation had altruism and aggression scores similar to voluntary whole-blood donors.

Published 19 September 2005 in Transfus Apher Sci, 33(2): 147-55.
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