Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 24, 2025
Dried Blood Spot Collection of Health Biomarkers to Maximize Participation in Population Studies
Published on: January 28, 2014
'Yeah, this is my donation': An application of psychological ownership in blood donation
Abigail R-A Edwards1, Rachel Thorpe2, Barbara M Masser1,2,3
1School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, Australia.
To meet the priority healthcare needs of any population there must be a consistently available blood supply donated by willing donors. Due to this universal need for blood, retaining blood donors remains an ongoing challenge for blood services internationally. Encouraging psychological ownership, or the feeling of ownership one experiences over a possession, provides a potential novel solution to donor retention. This study, based on semi-structured interviews with blood donors, investigates how donors perceive and develop psychological ownership in the context of blood donation. Interviews were conducted in Australia with 20 current blood donors (10 men, 10 women; Mage = 41.95). Through thematic analysis, six themes were identified based primarily on the theoretical framework of psychological ownership. This research offers a novel perspective on donor retention, suggesting that donors' ownership over their individual donation practices, and not the blood service, may contribute to maintaining a stable blood supply.
To meet the priority healthcare needs of any population there must be a consistently available blood supply donated by willing donors. Due to this universal need for blood, retaining blood donors remains an ongoing challenge for blood services internationally. Encouraging psychological ownership, or the feeling of ownership one experiences over a possession, provides a potential novel solution to donor retention. This study, based on semi-structured interviews with blood donors, investigates how donors perceive and develop psychological ownership in the context of blood donation. Interviews were conducted in Australia with 20 current blood donors (10 men, 10 women; Mage = 41.95). Through thematic analysis, six themes were identified based primarily on the theoretical framework of psychological ownership. This research offers a novel perspective on donor retention, suggesting that donors' ownership over their individual donation practices, and not the blood service, may contribute to maintaining a stable blood supply.
Related Concept Videos
01:15Blood Transfusion
Blood Transfusion Overview
A blood transfusion is a medical procedure used to replace blood lost due to injury, surgery, or to treat conditions such as anemia or cancer. During a transfusion, donor blood is...
02:45Blood Transfusion and Agglutination
History
The history of blood transfusion dates back to the 17th century, when early attempts were made in animals. In 1818 James Blundell, a British doctor, performed the first successful human blood transfusion. Later in 1900, Karl...
01:10Blood Typing
Antigens are protein molecules that reside on the surface of red blood cells (RBCs). The ABO and Rh blood typing systems target...
01:28Human Genetics
The complex relationship between genetics and psychology is observable through common biological components such...
01:19Rh Blood Group
01:12The ABO Blood Group
Antigens in the ABO Blood Group System
Antigens are substances that can trigger an immune response, leading to the production of antibodies. In the ABO blood group system,...