Blood donation in times of crisis: early insight into the impact of COVID‐19 on blood donors and their motivation to donate across European countries

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused an unprecedented impact on blood transfusion and collection with large-scale disruption to both the supply and demand for blood. Early evidence suggests European countries and across the world have experienced initial drops in whole blood donations, despite centres implementing extra safety measures and public appeals across Europe to encourage continued donation. In this survey, we aimed to provide early insight into the impact of COVID-19 on blood donors and their motivation to donate during the crisis. We asked representative samples in 7 European countries (Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, the Netherlands and the UK) about their blood donation activity and motivation to donate using an online survey. We analysed donor turnout during the COVID-19 period descriptively and using logistic regression.