Shan Yuan1, Shelley Chang2, Kasie Uyeno1, Gay Almquist1, Shirong Wang1. 1. Division of Transfusion Medicine Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, California. 2. Division of Transfusion Medicine Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The rapid rise of mobile communication technologies has the potential to dramatically change and improve blood donor recruitment and retention efforts. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: E-mail invitations were sent to blood donors in a large metropolitan area to participate in a Web-based survey designed to gauge their readiness and interest level for a blood donation mobile application ("app"). RESULTS: A total of 982 ethnically diverse respondents of various age groups and prior donation experiences were surveyed. Among the respondents, 87.3% had ready access to smart phones. E-mail was chosen by 62.1% as the currently preferred method when contacted by the blood center, followed by texting (10.1%). App features desired by most respondents were the abilities to request appointments 24/7 (76.8%) and to receive appointment confirmations quickly (81.3%). Many were concerned about receiving too many alerts or messages (64.1%) or insufficient protection for personal information (53.5%). Overall, 67.7% of respondents indicated that they were likely to use a blood donation mobile app. Likelihood was not significantly different by sex or ethnicity, and the impact of education level was limited. Donors who currently made donation appointments via telephone or a website were equally likely to use such an app. However, donors older than 45 years were less likely than younger donors (p = 0.001), and donors with more than five lifetime donations were more likely than less frequent donors to use such an app (p = 0.02). CONCLUSION: In a metropolitan area, donors are very receptive to using a mobile app to manage their donations.
BACKGROUND: The rapid rise of mobile communication technologies has the potential to dramatically change and improve blood donor recruitment and retention efforts. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: E-mail invitations were sent to blood donors in a large metropolitan area to participate in a Web-based survey designed to gauge their readiness and interest level for a blood donation mobile application ("app"). RESULTS: A total of 982 ethnically diverse respondents of various age groups and prior donation experiences were surveyed. Among the respondents, 87.3% had ready access to smart phones. E-mail was chosen by 62.1% as the currently preferred method when contacted by the blood center, followed by texting (10.1%). App features desired by most respondents were the abilities to request appointments 24/7 (76.8%) and to receive appointment confirmations quickly (81.3%). Many were concerned about receiving too many alerts or messages (64.1%) or insufficient protection for personal information (53.5%). Overall, 67.7% of respondents indicated that they were likely to use a blood donation mobile app. Likelihood was not significantly different by sex or ethnicity, and the impact of education level was limited. Donors who currently made donation appointments via telephone or a website were equally likely to use such an app. However, donors older than 45 years were less likely than younger donors (p = 0.001), and donors with more than five lifetime donations were more likely than less frequent donors to use such an app (p = 0.02). CONCLUSION: In a metropolitan area, donors are very receptive to using a mobile app to manage their donations.