{
  "abstract": "Sierra Leone faces critical blood shortages reliant on family replacement and paid donors, contributing to high maternal mortality. Traditional top-down blood drives have failed to build sustainable voluntary donor bases due to mistrust and logistical barriers. We developed 'Gi4SaveLife’, a community-led model to foster local ownership and sustainable donation. Implemented in Kono and Kenema districts, this quality improvement initiative established community 'hubs’ led by local volunteers responsible for peer-to-peer education and mobilisation. We conducted a baseline survey to identify barriers, followed by monthly blood drives using non-monetary incentives. Data on collection volumes, donor demographics and costs were tracked over 8 months. The initiative collected 539 units from 376 unique donors, moving from zero voluntary donations at baseline to a consistent supply. Crucially, 43% (161) were repeat donations, indicating a committed donor pool. The cost per unit decreased by 40% compared with standard NGO-led models. Key motivators included altruism (71%) and social recognition (52%). Gi4SaveLife demonstrates that a community-led approach, grounded in ownership and trust, can establish a cost-effective, sustainable pipeline of voluntary donors in low-resource settings. This model offers a scalable framework to bolster national blood transfusion services by bridging the gap between communities and health facilities.",
  "authors": [
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Women & Children’s Health, School of Life Course & Population Health Sciences, Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine, King’s College London, London, UK"
      ],
      "name": "Cristina Fernandez Turienzo"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Women & Children’s Health, School of Life Course & Population Health Sciences, Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine, King’s College London, London, UK"
      ],
      "name": "Lucy November"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Lifeline Nehemiah Projects, Freetown, Sierra Leone"
      ],
      "name": "Mohamed Turay"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Lifeline Nehemiah Projects, Freetown, Sierra Leone"
      ],
      "name": "Philemon Kamara"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Lifeline Nehemiah Projects, Freetown, Sierra Leone"
      ],
      "name": "Rick K Lassie"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Lifeline Nehemiah Projects, Freetown, Sierra Leone"
      ],
      "name": "John S Kamara"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Lifeline Nehemiah Projects, Freetown, Sierra Leone"
      ],
      "name": "Mohamed K Kamara"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "University of Sierra Leone, Freetown, Sierra Leone"
      ],
      "name": "Mangenda Kamara"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Koidu Government Hospital, Koidu, Sierra Leone"
      ],
      "name": "Mariatu Duraman"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Women & Children’s Health, School of Life Course & Population Health Sciences, Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine, King’s College London, London, UK"
      ],
      "name": "Katy Kuhrt"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Population Health Sciences, School of Life Course & Population Health Sciences, Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine, King’s College London, London, UK"
      ],
      "name": "Andrew J M Leather"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "University of Sierra Leone, Freetown, Sierra Leone"
      ],
      "name": "Sahr Gevao"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Lifeline Nehemiah Projects, Freetown, Sierra Leone"
      ],
      "name": "Prince T Williams"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Gi4SaveLife: a community-led model for sustainable voluntary blood donation in rural Sierra Leone",
  "uid": "b2bcdebf-c764-5d01-9db7-19a1dee156de"
}