Blood Donation and Subjective Well-being

The Relationship Between Blood Donation and Subjective Well-being

This study investigates the psychological effects of blood donation among adult donors at the Guangzhou Blood Center. The primary objective is to examine whether a brief gratitude-based intervention delivered after donation enhances donors' subjective well-being (SWB) and basic psychological need (BPN) satisfaction. Participants who complete a whole-blood donation are randomly assigned to either an Intervention group, receiving a standardized gratitude reinforcement message accompanied by a vignette emphasizing the life-saving impact of donation, or a Control group that receives no additional message. All participants complete questionnaires at Time 1 (immediately after donation) and at Time 2 (4-22 days later), assessing SWB and related psychosocial variables.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Happiness; Blood Donation
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Information

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 601
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• China
  • Guangdong
    • Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, 510095
      • Guangzhou Blood Center

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 60 years (Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Successfully completed a whole-blood donation at the Guangzhou Blood Center during the study period.
• Able to read and understand the study materials and provide informed consent.
• Provided the correct answer to a control question in the questionnaire
• Provided their phone number.
• Donated blood was successfully supplied to the hospitals.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Whole blood donors with positive or suspicious serological results.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Other
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
No Intervention: No Message; Participants in this group complete the standard post-donation procedure and receive no additional message or vignette. They complete the same questionnaires at Time 1 (post-donation) and Time 2 (4-22 days later) as the Intervention group. This arm serves as the comparison condition for evaluating the effect of the gratitude-based intervention on subjective well-being and related psychosocial outcomes.
Experimental: Gratitude-based intervention; Participants in this group receive a standardized gratitude-based intervention immediately after completing whole-blood donation. The intervention consists of (1) a written gratitude reinforcement message acknowledging the donor's contribution and emphasizing the life-saving impact of their donation, and (2) a brief vignette illustrating how donated blood benefits patients in need. The purpose of this intervention is to enhance donors' subjective well-being and psychological need satisfaction by reinforcing their sense of autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Participants complete questionnaires at Time 1 (post-donation) and Time 2 (4-22 days later).	Other: Information; A reminder to inform donors that their blood has saved patient's life in a questionnaire.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Score of Subjective Well-Being at Time 2	Subjective well-being (SWB) is assessed at follow-up using a validated multi-item measure capturing life satisfaction and affective well-being. Affect-Adjective Scale (validated Chinese version): 9 items, each scored 1-7. Satisfaction with Life Scale (validated Chinese version): 5 items scored 1-7. An aggregate SWB score was calculated by standardizing and summing life satisfaction scores with positive affect scores and subtracting the negative affect score from them. Scores range from low to high levels of well-being. The primary objective is to evaluate whether exposure to the gratitude-based intervention leads to higher SWB relative to the control condition.	4-22 days after donation

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Re-Donation Rate within One Year	Actual re-donation rate is obtained from the Guangzhou Blood Centre's donation records. The variable indicates whether the participant returned for another whole-blood or component donation within one year.	Up to 12 months after the initial donation
Score of Subjective Well-being at Time 1	Baseline Subjective well-being (SWB) is measured using a validated multi-item measure capturing life satisfaction and affective well-being. Affect-Adjective Scale (validated Chinese version): 9 items, each scored 1-7. Satisfaction with Life Scale (validated Chinese version): 5 items scored 1-7. An aggregate SWB score was calculated by standardizing and summing life satisfaction scores with positive affect scores and subtracting the negative affect score from them. Scores range from low to high levels of well-being.	Immediately after donation
Score of Basic Psychological Needs Satisfaction at Time 1	Baseline basic psychological needs (BPN) satisfaction is measured using a 9-item Basic Psychological Needs Scale (validated Chinese version). The scale contains subscales for autonomy, competence, and relatedness, using a 7-point scale ranging from 1 (not at all true) to 7 (very much true). Each of the three subscales was averaged to form an index of general BPN satisfaction. This measure captures donors' immediate psychological experience following donation. Higher scores indicate greater psychological need satisfaction.	Immediately after donation
Score of Basic Psychological Needs Satisfaction at Time 2	The same basic psychological needs satisfaction (BPN) scale is administered at follow-up to examine changes after the intervention. It is measured using a 9-item Basic Psychological Needs Scale (validated Chinese version). The scale contains subscales for autonomy, competence, and relatedness, using a 7-point scale ranging from 1 (not at all true) to 7 (very much true). Each of the three subscales was averaged to form an index of general BPN satisfaction. Higher scores indicate greater psychological need satisfaction.	4-22 days after donation
Score of Blood Donation Intention at Time 1	Intention to donate blood again in the future at Time 1 is measured using a single self-report intention item rated from 1 (very unlikely) to 7 (very likely), with higher scores indicating stronger intention to donate. The same item is administered at Time 1 and Time 2 to assess changes over time and to examine potential effects of the intervention on future donation motivation.	Immediately after donation
Score of Blood Donation Intention Score at Time 2	Intention to donate blood again in the future at Time 2 is measured using a single self-report intention item rated from 1 (very unlikely) to 7 (very likely), with higher scores indicating stronger intention to donate. The same item is administered at Time 1 and Time 2 to assess changes over time and to examine potential effects of the intervention on future donation motivation.	4-22 days after donation

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Guangzhou Blood Center

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): January 18, 2022
• Primary Completion (Actual): March 12, 2022
• Study Completion (Actual): March 16, 2022

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: January 15, 2022
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 15, 2022
• First Posted (Actual): January 28, 2022

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimated): January 13, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 10, 2026
• Last Verified: January 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Other Study ID Numbers: Blood donation and well-being

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No