Dedicated Donors With “Donordruppels?” Effects of an Online Loyalty Program on Plasma Donor Perception and Behavior

Abstract

Donation of plasma, a blood component used to produce medicines, is not well known among the general population. This unfamiliarity, combined with considerable personal costs of plasma donation, that is, time and effort, and restrictive policies around donor compensation, poses a significant threat to plasma availability worldwide. Retention of existing plasma donors in particular poses challenges for plasma collection agencies. Loyalty programs, which reward returning donors, may contribute to donor retention. This study evaluates how plasma donors perceive and use a loyalty program and its effect on donation behavior. A total of 360 plasma donors participated in an online survey, and their answers were linked to their use of the loyalty program and donation behavior. Ten percent of survey participants had not registered for the program, mainly because they found it unnecessary to save for and receive rewards for donating. For users, we ran a Structural Equation Model (SEM) to estimate paths between perceptions (e.g., attitudes, expectations), use intention, actual use, and donation behavior. Results regarding perceptions were somewhat mixed, yet clear effects were observed for the path from intention to use the loyalty program to actual use of the program and to actual donation behavior. In conclusion, we find that online, easy-to-use loyalty programs give donors more control over whether to use their loyalty points and how and what to save for (as compared to the smaller gifts they would receive in standard milestone-based appreciation programs) and can have a positive impact on their donation behavior and ultimately, on plasma availability.