Altruism and payment in blood donation

Paid blood donation still has its defenders, who cite economic doctrines denying the existence of altruism per se, the inability of most countries with exclusively voluntary donations to achieve self–sufficiency and the supposedly successful use of selected groups of paid donors. This paper argues t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Transfusion science 1997-09, Vol.18 (3), p.379-386
Main Author: Fernández-Montoya, Antonio
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Altruism
Blood Donors
Cost Control
Health technology assessment
Helping Behavior
Humans
Philosophy
Sociology, Medical
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Summary:Paid blood donation still has its defenders, who cite economic doctrines denying the existence of altruism per se, the inability of most countries with exclusively voluntary donations to achieve self–sufficiency and the supposedly successful use of selected groups of paid donors. This paper argues that blood donation is an example of genuine altruism where the altruistic behaviour is incorporated into the self as a role. Unpaid donation is proven to be much safer for receivers and supply problems can be attributed fundamentally to inefficiencies in the organization of transfusion services. Voluntary and non-remunerated donation may be sufficient for a country/region to cover all its blood product needs, but requires an efficient organization and the elimination of “spurious altruism”, non-monetary forms of compensation that harm the social image of voluntary donation and obstruct its further development.
ISSN:0955-3886
1879-3126
DOI:10.1016/S0955-3886(97)00026-X