Alternative strategies to promote voluntary blood donation in secondary schools in Malawi: Enhancing participation and impact-Malawi BLOODSAFE program.

BACKGROUND AND

OBJECTIVE

Adequate blood supply remains a challenge in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Malawi has a 13% shortfall in required blood supplies. Innovative recruitment and retention strategies are crucial to ensuring a sufficient number of donors and blood supply. We explored alternative approaches to enhance blood donation in Malawi to bridge the gap.

METHODS

A qualitative exploratory design was utilised with a sample of 135 participants purposively selected in eight districts, in the Northern, Central, Southern and Eastern regions of Malawi. Data were collected using in-depth interviews with 20 participants (first-time and repeat donors, lapsed and non-donors), 20 key informant interviews with community, policy-level stakeholders, Malawi Blood Transfusion Service (MBTS) staff and 16 focus group discussions (involving 95 participants). Thematic content analysis was used to categorise the strategies, and a qualitative software data package (NVivo version 12) was used to organise the qualitative data.

RESULTS

Donor education emerged as a key strategy for donor recruitment and retention. Other strategies included the formation of blood donor clubs in secondary schools and for post-secondary students, accountability mechanisms related to blood: its collection and management of blood and blood products, the provision of incentives and youth-friendly motivation strategies, including school competitions (quizzes and sports) and entertainment.

CONCLUSION

The study emphasised the significance of blood donor education in encouraging blood donation. Participants' views suggest that developing innovative approaches for education to increase awareness and understanding of blood-donation processes may help motivate more individuals to donate. In addition, participants suggested other youth-friendly approaches to support blood donor recruitment, including providing incentives preferred by young people, introducing intra-school competitions and incorporating entertainment activities. These insights point to the potential value of developing innovative strategies to support blood donor recruitment efforts.