Donate blood? sure, but...

May 14, 2009

Donate blood? sure, but...

		Research found that voluntary blood donations tend to be fewer in countries with more individualistic cultures. -- ST PHOTO: TERENCE TAN

SINGAPOREANS are not as individualistic as some people think, revealed a my paper street poll.

S'poreans care for one another VOLUNTEERISM is well and alive herebecause there is a strong culture of people looking out for one another. This observation is supported by blood-donation data from the World Health Organization (WHO), which showed that Singaporeans are altruistic when it comes to blood donation. ... more

To get a sense of how altruistic Singaporeans are, we polled 50 people and found that 30, or more than half of them, would donate blood - if they were given some kind of incentive.

However, out of the 30, 20 said that there was no need for monetary rewards.

Said polytechnic student Diyana Johah, 23: 'Goodie bags with refreshments (that help) to replenish the lost blood would be fine.'

Others, like business executive Jolene Tan, 37, said a thank-you card or note would be good enough.

However, some Singaporeans, like tuition teacher Michael Lim, 30, felt that blood donors should be compensated, just as organ donors are allowed to receive reimbursement for their actions.

But others, like student Ray Choon, 19, felt that blood donation should be an altruistic act.

'Knowing that we are helping others...is more than enough,' he said.

The poll followed a research paper on altruistic behaviour written by Professor Ivan Png from the National University of Singapore.

The research found that voluntary blood donations tend to be fewer in countries with more individualistic cultures, such as the United States and Britain, where social ties between individuals are loose and people are expected to look after themselves.

When asked to comment on my paper's poll results, in which people said they would ask for incentives in exchange for donating blood, Prof Png said the curent lacklustre economy might have affected people's willingness to give without expectations. -- MY PAPER

**SOURCE**

S'poreans care for one another

VOLUNTEERISM is well and alive herebecause there is a strong culture of people looking out for one another.

This observation is supported by blood-donation data from the World Health Organization (WHO), which showed that Singaporeans are altruistic when it comes to blood donation.

Professor Ivan Png from the National University of Singapore said that voluntary blood donations tend to be fewer in countries with more individualistic cultures, such as the United States and Britain, where social ties between individuals are loose and people are expected to look after themselves.

He offered this insight after studying a year's worth of blood-donation data from the WHO.

'Volunteerism in Singapore is strong due to the culture here,' said Prof Png, who has a personal interest in the study of altruistic behaviour.

He explained that Singapore is rated 'quite highly collectivist' on the Hofstede Index, which measures how people treat one another.

Singaporeans, he said, do look out for one another - as shown by the relatively higher incidence of voluntary blood donations here - compared to people in the US and Britain.

His research paper showed that different countries have varying levels of incentivised collections and voluntary donations.

For instance, in Malaysia, the rate of incentivised collections is 0.9 per cent and voluntary collections is 99.1 per cent. In contrast, in the Maldives, the rate of incentivised collections is 80 per cent while that of voluntary collections stands at 20 per cent.

'Incentivised collections crowd out voluntary donations. In countries where incentives are given for donating blood, the more people donate because of the incentives, the lower the level of voluntary donations,' he observed.

Among other things, he also found that voluntary donations increase with income. The higher the GDP per capita, the greater the incidence of voluntary blood donations, he said.

However, there is no link between voluntary donations and health conditions.

Prof Png said that voluntary donations

are not affected by conditions such as the prevalence of HIV or life expectancy.

'Policy leaders, particularly those from developing countries, need to consider seriously whether (they should) provide incentives for blood donation, or allow the sale of blood, as such actions displace voluntary blood donations,' he said. -- MY PAPER

**SOUECE**

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No reimbursement shd be given to blood donors. The current appreciation gift/ celebration day is enough!!