Incentives for blood donation in China

 College students have serious (and competitive) incentives to donate blood in China.  This is from Ariana Tang's blog

blood donation bonus points for scholarship credits

"Incentives and Care for Blood Donating Students and Faculty at Shanghai University of Finance and Economics

"Students and faculty who participate in voluntary blood donation will receive a blood donation care package. This package includes a blood donation care card loaded with a nutrition subsidy of 220 RMB (previously, a 20 RMB meal subsidy was added to the care card). This card can be used at various campus restaurants and supermarkets.

"Additionally, the package contains a snack worth 40 RMB. Students who participate in voluntary blood donation will also receive an extra 0.5 points towards their scholarship.

"[translated excerpts from the official call-to-donation announcement, original file (in Chinese) archived here]

"scholarship system mechanics

"Key points: (1) scholarships are awarded by ranking of a score, and blood donation bonus is often a tie-breaker (2) scholarships are very important, and competitive.

"The major scholarship that students compete for—the ‘People’s Scholarship’ issued by the National Bureau of Education—quota is allocated to each class according to a designated ratio. For example, I compete among the pilot class with a total of 18 students for the following quota:

First-place: 18*2% = 0.36 -> 1 person.

Second-place 18*6% = 1.08 -> 1 person.

Third-place: 18*12% = 2.16 -> 2 person.

Students are ranked by their ‘comprehensive evaluation score’ which is mainly a weighted sum of their grades, physical exercises, adding a ‘bonus points’ which includes the aforementioned blood donation incentive:

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"Notably, students can earn up to 0.5 points for each voluntary blood donation, with the potential to accumulate 1 point for two donations within a year.

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competitions

The bonus from blood donations can decisively influence scholarship outcomes"

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"the donation rush

"Scholarship is not only about money. The mental value that it carries, and more importantly, winning the ‘People’s Scholarship’ is a necessary for applying for further honors. Because of this huge incentive, students rush to get their blood donated.

"Given the scarcity of blood donation opportunities—only five to six campus visits yearly by the Shanghai blood center, each time offering around 150-200 quotas—students often queue from as early as 6 a.m. to secure a donation form. Latecomers, even those arriving slightly past 7 a.m., risk missing out due to the limited number of forms available.

"I’ve been there. Only got a form the second time."