Breaking down barriers: Recruiting donors of African ancestry in Ireland

The diversity of the donor pool has an impact on blood provision for patients with inherited blood disorders, such as sickle cell anaemia. Many patients are critically dependent on red cell transfusions and due to uneven antigen distribution among different ethnic groups, they are at high risk of red cell alloimmunization. The aims of the present study were to understand the motivators and barriers to young Black Irish people donating blood, to explore the views of older Black individuals who were previously excluded but may now be eligible to donate following the recent changes to donor screening, and lastly, to make recommendations for future campaigns that appeal to the Irish Black community.

Online focus groups with people of African Ancestry living in Ireland were conducted (n = 6 focus groups, n = 47 participants). A semi-structured format was adopted. The focus group transcripts were analysed to identify the key themes expressed.

The main barriers to blood donation were (i) personal beliefs, (ii) distrust of healthcare organizations, (iii) previous negative donation experiences, (iv) a lack of basic information and (v) replacement donation. Motivators to donate blood included (i) altruism, (ii) Black representation, (iii) targeted information, (iv) helping the Black community and (v) building trust.

Blood donor recruitment among the Irish Black community should be informed by an understanding of the varied attitudes to blood donation and the current social norms within Irish African communities. Ireland is a modern multicultural society and its blood donor pool should strive to reflect this diversity.