A university – Led initiative to promote voluntary non-remunerated blood donation in a developing country

To describe the process, challenges and impact of developing a voluntary non-remunerated blood donor programme in a replacement- based blood donation system. Trinidad and Tobago is a developing country whose blood transfusion service is based on replacement and remunerated donors. The University of the West Indies Blood Donor Foundation was formed to promote voluntary non-remunerated donation through education, research and example. The process of establishing the Blood Donor Foundation was documented. Age, gender, number, history (first-time or repeat) and serological tests of donors attending 12 consecutive sessions between 2015 and 2018 were analyzed. Comparisons were made to published PAHO data for TTO’s replacement blood donor system and the programme’s impact on national policy described. Chi square analysis was used to measure significance of associations and p