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BACKGROUND: In the United States, African Americans donate at approximately half the rate of whites and therefore are underrepresented in the volunteer blood donor pool. The goal of this study was to identify motivators and barriers to African Americans donating blood. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: A consortium of 15 predominantly African American churches of varying denominations in metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia, participated in an 81-item self-administered survey. The questionnaire was designed to assess participant's demographic background, blood donation frequency, motivators and barriers to donation, knowledge and beliefs regarding donation, and overall health status. RESULTS: A total of 930 participants completed the survey: 72% female, 55% age 40 or older, 99% African American, and 58% college-educated. The most frequent reported motivators were donating to help save a life (96%) and donating because blood is needed (95%), while the most frequent barriers were that they rarely think about it and they were afraid, nervous, or anxious to give blood (35%). The association of barriers with donation status, age, gender, and education level was stronger than for motivators. Fear was more common in nondonors than lapsed and current donors, youngest compared to older adults, and women than men and less in those with higher income. CONCLUSION: Motivators and barriers to blood donation in African American church attendees differ depending on the respondents' demographics. To increase the effectiveness of church drives, donor recruitment should focus on addressing these barriers and motivators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Presenting blood donors are screened to ensure both their safety and that of the recipients of blood products. Donors with identified risks are deferred from donating blood either temporarily or permanently. Minorities are underrepresented as donors in the United States and this may in part be a result of increased donor deferral rates in minorities compared to white individuals., Study Design and Methods: Data consisted of deferred and successful blood donor presentations to the American Red Cross Southern Region in the metropolitan Atlanta area in 2004 to 2008. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were conducted by race/ethnicity, age group, and sex., Results: A total of 586,159 voluntary donor presentations occurred in 2004 to 2008, of which 79,214 (15.6%) resulted in deferral. In the age 16 to 69 years subset (98.3% of the presentations), deferred presentations were mostly women (78.2%). The most common reason for donor deferral was low hemoglobin (62.6%). The donor deferral rate varied by race/ethnicity, age, and sex: whites (11.1%), Hispanics (14.1%), and African Americans (17.9%); 16- to 19-year-olds (17.0%) and 50- to 59-year-olds (11.7%); and females (20.0%) and males (6.2%). Compared to whites and Hispanics, African American females had the highest deferral rate in each age group., Conclusions: Minorities are disproportionately impacted by blood donor deferrals. Methods to decrease blood donor deferral rates among African Americans are needed.