Future Trends in AI and Blood Donor Recruitment: What to Expect in the Next Decade
The AI revolution is here, and it’s not going away. The latest “AI boom” is still very much in its infancy, but we’re already seeing lots of powerful new tools based on artificial intelligence. So what does the future hold for AI and blood donor recruitment? Here are a few things that we think blood centers should expect in the next 10 years.
1. Automated, Personalized Contact Schedules For Recurring Donors
Donor outreach can be time-consuming for blood centers. Even if you use a software platform to simplify the process of sending emails and SMS messages or to send pre-recorded voice reminders, the process can still take a while.
But with the rise of Large Language Models (LLMs) and other AI tools, we think that donor reminders will become even more hands-off in the future. AI tools will be able to take lots of factors into account to send reminders at the perfect time, including:
Total number of donations
Time since last donation
Blood type
Geographic location
Nearest donation center
Then, an AI-powered LLM can be used to send voice or text reminders and reach out to donors automatically. This will virtually eliminate the need for human intervention and dramatically reduce the time that donation centers spend reaching out to donors.
2. Human-Like Voice And Chat Bots Delivering Reminders, Answering FAQs, And More
At Incept Health, we’re already using our Betty Blood Conversational AI Voice Bot to make appointment reminder calls and answer common FAQs. In the future, we plan to add the ability for Betty Blood to contact donors and ask if they're ready to donate – and connect them with a scheduling specialist if they are.
Eventually, it may be possible to use an AI bot like Betty Blood to handle the entire booking process – from first contact to scheduling, appointment reminders, answering FAQs, and even giving directions to the nearest blood center. This will further reduce both administrative burdens and costs for blood centers.
3. Implementation Of Predictive Algorithms To Help With Blood Shortages
We’ve already written about how AI and predictive algorithms can help reduce blood shortages. By analyzing data about blood donations, we believe that AI models will help predict where and when blood will be needed the most – as well as which blood types will be needed.
A Korean study published in early January 2024 used publicly available data from South Korea’s Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA) to show the potential effectiveness of such an algorithm.
Using 12 years of data, the researchers created an AI-powered algorithm that made accurate forecasts about future blood donation needs. This shows the real-world potential that AI has to create more accurate blood order estimates, reduce waste, and improve overall efficiency.
4. Novel Approaches To Overcome Fear Of Needles & Other Blood Donation Obstacles
Since it affects nearly 25% of the population, fear of needles is a huge barrier to blood donation. In the Netherlands, a team of researchers used AI-powered algorithms and smartphones to create a novel method of overcoming the fear of needles.
The team used an AI algorithm to detect facial reactions that indicated fear or anxiety in a blood donor. Then, they created a weather-based smartphone game that used a donor’s front-facing smartphone camera to look for these reactions in blood donors who were waiting for their appointments.
When the app detected signs of anxiety, the weather in the game changed to storms or snow. And when the user relaxed, the weather returned to a calm, sunny day. This “biofeedback loop” allowed users to more easily recognize signs of anxiety and distress and take steps to manage them before donating blood.
This is a great example of how AI and modern technology can be used to overcome common obstacles to blood donation. As artificial intelligence continues to mature, researchers are sure to discover other novel and unique ways that it can help overcome common obstacles to blood donation.
5. Enhanced Recruitment Campaigns Using AI-Driven Insights
AI will play a pivotal role in shaping how blood centers design their recruitment campaigns in the future. By analyzing vast amounts of data from previous campaigns, social media interactions, and donor demographics, AI can identify the most effective messaging strategies for various audience segments.
Imagine an AI tool that examines which types of social media posts attract the most engagement from younger donors, or which email subject lines generate higher click-through rates among first-time donors. These insights will allow blood centers to craft hyper-targeted campaigns that resonate with potential donors on a personal level, driving greater participation and fostering long-term donor relationships.
Additionally, AI can help optimize campaign timing by identifying trends in donor behavior and activity, ensuring outreach happens when donors are most likely to respond. This precision will make recruitment efforts more efficient and cost-effective, helping blood centers maximize their impact with limited resources.
Need More Donors Today? Contact Incept Health To Get Started!
AI-powered tools will definitely be important for recruiting blood donors in the future. But if you need more donors today, Incept Health is here to help. We specialize in digital marketing for blood centers. Schedule an online consultation with one of our experts today and see what we can do for your organization.