Abstract
Amsterdam, The Netherlands 2Department of Public Health, Amsterdam African migrants are underrepresented as blood donors in many Western countries, UMC, Amsterdam Public Health Research which can lead to shortages of specific blood types for transfusion. More insight in Institute, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands the reasons for this underrepresentation is required to improve blood donor recruit‐ 3Department of Medical and Clinical ment and retention strategies. The aim of this qualitative study was to explore barri‐ Psychology, Tilburg University, Tilburg, The ers and motivators for donating blood among migrants of African background. The Netherlands research population consisted of first and second generation African‐Surinamese Correspondence (n = 20) and Ghanaian (n = 16) migrants living in the Netherlands. In semi‐structured Elisabeth F. Klinkenberg, Donor Studies, Sanquin Research, Amsterdam, The personal interviews performed in 2016 and 2017, their experiences and opinions re‐ Netherlands. garding blood donation, barriers, and motivators to (not) become a blood donor and Email: l.klinkenberg@sanquin.nl their suggestions to improve recruitment were explored. Data collection was contin‐ Funding Information This work was supported by Sanquin ued until data saturation was achieved. The interviews revealed that although all Research under the internal grant: participants knew about blood donation in general, only four had previously heard of PPOC‐14‐25. the Dutch national blood bank organisation. Participants expected that if blood was needed, the blood bank would directly approach them, as in their country of origin. Other main blood donation barriers were fear (e.g., of needles, losing too much blood) and issues related to health and non‐eligibility to donate. Main motivators were mainly of altruistic nature (e.g., saving a life) and an increased awareness of the need via personal recruitment appeals. It is concluded that expectations regarding donor recruitment—derived from the country of origin—and unawareness of the need for blood can act as important barriers in blood donation among African migrants. Contrary to studies in the United States and Australia, perceived discrimination and social exclusion did not seem to be a donation deterrent among migrants in the Netherlands. Creating awareness of the need of blood by actively approaching, and informing migrants about the donation procedure in the host country, should be con‐ sidered by blood banks.