Exploring the motivations of bone marrow typing donors

This study explored the issues of personality and knowledge of bone marrow typing in 66 students who participated in a bone marrow typing drive and 47 nonparticipants. No differences in personality between the donors and nondonors were found on measures of perceived self-competence, satisfaction with life, and overall fear of medical procedures. However, donors reported greater concern with social desirability and less fear of needles than did nondonors who were aware of the drive. Students who were better educated about the donation procedure were more likely to donate, as were students who had previously donated blood. Nondonors were more likely to identify incorrectly the means by which marrow is typed and to believe that the process is painful.