By Marike Gevers

On Saturday, 29 October, 1154 people attended our 1 Day – 10 Malls – 1000 units of blood challenge, and 1011 units were collected. This means that 3033 lives could potentially be saved by this campaign. We also aimed to welcome at least 100 new donors on the day. We are delighted to share that 196 new donors started their remarkable life-saving journey as blood donors.

It is the 3rd time we hosted this challenge; the 1st challenge occurred in October 2021, and the 2nd in June 2022. We sent out a survey to donors that donated on the 29 of October to gain insights into our overall service and marketing efforts.

14% of the donors that donated as part of this challenge completed the survey. 82% of the group were regular donors, and 18% were new.

We asked what convinced donors to take part in the challenge;

  • Donors were aware of the bloodstock crises and wanted to help,
  • Some of the donors were due to donate,
  • Donors liked donating at the malls that the challenge took place,
  • They liked donating over a weekend,
  • And quite a few donors were inspired because it was a challenge.

We wanted to find out how donors heard about us. The majority of donors, 38%, heard about us by listening to the radio. When asked which radio they heard us on, Kfm 94.5 was listed first, followed by Heart 104.9FM. Other radio stations were; Smile 90.4FM, VOC and Radio Tygerberg. The 2nd most effective way was by word of mouth, coming in with a score of 27%, proving that 1 of the oldest and most trusted marketing methods is still effective. Other successful methods of reaching donors were through posters and flyers, as well as social media.

We also asked donors to rate a series of statements using a Likert scale, on the scale 1 was poor and 5 excellent. Our staff’s friendliness and helpfulness scored the highest at 4.8/5, and donors also indicated that based on their overall experience, they would recommend blood donation to others. Please keep spreading the word; it clearly made a difference!

Thank you to all our donors who participated in this challenge, and a special thanks to the donors who completed the survey. We value your feedback and will use this information to better our service for future campaigns to come. Should you have any feedback please contact us toll-free on 0800 625 663 or email us at info@wcbs.org.za