In the context of the global COVID-19 pandemic, blood collection agencies (BCAs) around the world are operating under unprecedented conditions. As social scientists in donor research in Canada, Australia, and the Netherlands, we provide some early observations on donor and public responses to the pandemic and identify areas for donor research moving forward: 1) how donors and non-donors respond to the crisis and to the appeal for donation; 2) to what extent first-time donors during the pandemic will return; 3) how donation might mitigate (or (...)

In the context of the global COVID-19 pandemic, blood collection agencies (BCAs) around the world are operating under unprecedented conditions. As social scientists in donor research in Canada, Australia, and the Netherlands, we provide some early observations on donor and public responses to the pandemic and identify areas for donor research moving forward: 1) how donors and non-donors respond to the crisis and to the appeal for donation; 2) to what extent first-time donors during the pandemic will return; 3) how donation might mitigate (or not) the negative effects of stay-at-home measures; 4) how BCAs engage in efforts to study convalescent plasma treatment for COVID-19, and what the implications for donors are; 5) the impact of the pandemic on donors and BCAs in low- and middle-income countries.