scholarly journals Help Is in Your Blood—Incentive to “Double Altruism” Resolves the Plasma Donation Paradox

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Petra Gyuris ◽  
Baksa Gergely Gáspár ◽  
Béla Birkás ◽  
Krisztina Csókási ◽  
Ferenc Kocsor

Blood donation is considered as one of the purest forms of altruism. Plasma donation, in contrast, despite being a similar process, is mostly a paid activity in which donors are compensated for their contribution to the production of therapeutic preparations. This creates a so-called “plasma paradox:” If remuneration is promised for a socially useful effort, volunteers with altruistic motives might be deterred. At the same time, regular plasma donors who pursue the monetary benefits of donation might drop out if remuneration stops. The same controversy can be caught in the messages of most plasma donation companies as well: They promise a monetary reward (MR), and at the same time, highlight the altruistic component of donation. In this study, we tested the assumption that emphasizing the social significance enhances the willingness to donate blood plasma more effectively than either MR or the combination of these two incentives. This had to be rejected since there was no significant difference between the three scenarios. Furthermore, we also hypothesized that individuals might be more motivated to donate plasma if there is a possibility of offering an MR toward other socially beneficial aims. We found an increased willingness to donate in scenarios enabling “double altruism”, that is, when donating plasma for therapeutic use and transferring their remuneration to nongovernmental organizations, is an option. We propose relying on double altruism to resolve the plasma paradox, and suggest that it could serve as a starting point for the development of more optimized means for donor recruitment.

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 145-152 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabrina Moro ◽  
Samita Nandy ◽  
Kiera Obbard ◽  
Andrew Zolides

Using celebrity narratives as a starting point, this Special Issue explores the social significance of storytelling for social change. It builds on the 8th Centre for Media and Celebrity Studies conference, which brought together scholars and media practitioners to explore how narratives inspired by the lives of celebrities, public intellectuals, critics and activists offer useful rhetorical tools to better understand dominant ideologies. This editorial further problematizes what it means to be a popular ‘storyteller’ using the critical lens of celebrity activism and life-writing. Throughout the issue, contributors analyse the politics of representation at play within a wide range of glamourous narratives, including documentaries, memoirs, TED talks, stand-up performances and award acceptance speeches in Hollywood and beyond. The studies show how we can strategically use aesthetic communication to shape identity politics in public personas and bring urgent social change in an image-driven celebrity culture.


2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-28
Author(s):  
Desislava D. Drenska ◽  
Dimitar B. Maslarov

SummaryA Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA) is a state of emergency and an independent risk factor for ischemic stroke. The social significance of the disease is determined, based on the probability of occurrence of subsequent cerebrovascular incidents and their frequency among groups. The purpose of the present study was to perform a comparative analysis of clinical features and outcome in patients with TIA for at least 24 months after onset had been registered, according to the pathogenesis and to ABCD (2) score. Two hundred and fifty-seven patients were monitored at the Neurology Clinic, First MHAT – Sofia after suffering an initial TIA. All subjects were studied using a clinical evaluation of pathogenetic mechanisms and an ABCD (2) algorithm. A diagnosis of TIA was confirmed by neuroimaging. The comparison between specific pathogenetic mechanisms demonstrated a statistically significant difference. Two TIA subgroups were involved – thromboembolic and cryptogenic (p<0.05). Also, according to the ABCD (2) score results, significant differences were found between groups at low (1-3) and high (6-7) risk, and those at intermediate (4-5) and high risk (p<0.01). Detailed investigation and assessment of patients with TIA are important concerning the prognostic outcome.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanna Balcerek ◽  
Evelin Trejo ◽  
Kendall Levine ◽  
Paul Couey ◽  
Zoe V Kornberg ◽  
...  

Background: Major blood centers perform serologic testing on potential COVID-19 convalescent plasma donors retrospectively after blood donation. A hospital-based recruitment program for COVID-19 convalescent plasma (CCP) donors may be an efficient way to prospectively identify potential donors. Study Design and Methods: Patients who recovered from known or suspected COVID-19 were identified and recruited through medical record searches and public appeals. Participants were screened with a modified donor history questionnaire (DHQ), and if eligible, were consented and tested for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies (IgG and IgM). Participants who were positive for SARS-CoV-2 IgG were referred to a local blood center for convalescent plasma collection. Results: Of 179 individuals screened, 128 completed serologic testing and 89 were referred for convalescent plasma donation to a local blood center (49.7% of those screened). IgG antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 were detected in 23/51 (45.1%) of participants with suspected COVID-19 and in 66/77 (85.7%) of participants with self-reported PCR-confirmed COVID-19. Testing was performed at a median of 38 days since last symptoms. Participant age positively correlated with anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG and IgM levels. Time since last symptoms did not correlate with IgG or IgM levels. A wide range of SARS-CoV-2 IgG levels were observed. Conclusion: A hospital based CCP donor recruitment program can prospectively identify potential CCP donors. Variability in SARS-CoV-2 IgG levels has implications for selection of CCP units for transfusion.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Grace ◽  
Mark Gaspar ◽  
Benjamin Klassen ◽  
David Lessard ◽  
Praney Anand ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Men who have sex with men (MSM) are not eligible to donate blood or plasma in Canada if they have had sex with another man in the last 3 months. This time-based deferment has reduced since 2013; from an initial lifetime ban, to five-years, one-year, and now three-months. Our previous research revealed that gay, bisexual, queer, and other MSM (GBM) supported making blood donation policies gender-neutral and behaviour-based. In this analysis, we explored the willingness of Canadian GBM to donate plasma, even if they were not eligible to donate blood. Methods We conducted in-depth interviews with 39 HIV-negative GBM in Vancouver (n = 15), Toronto (n = 13), and Montreal (n = 11), recruited from a large respondent-driven sampling study called Engage. Men received some basic information on plasma donation prior to answering questions. Transcripts were coded in NVivo following inductive thematic analysis. Results Many GBM expressed a general willingness to donate plasma if they became eligible; like with whole blood donation, GBM conveyed a strong desire to help others in need. However, this willingness was complicated by the fact that most participants had limited knowledge of plasma donation and were unsure of its medical importance. Participants’ perspectives on a policy that enabled MSM to donate plasma varied, with some viewing this change as a “stepping stone” to a reformed blood donation policy and others regarding it as insufficient and constructing GBM as “second-class” donors. When discussing plasma, many men reflected on the legacy of blood donor policy-related discrimination. Our data reveal a significant plasma policy disjuncture—a gulf between the critical importance of plasma donation from the perspective of Canada’s blood operators and patients and the feelings of many GBM who understood this form of donation as less important. Conclusions Plasma donor policies must be considered in relation to MSM blood donation policies to understand how donor eligibility practices are made meaningful by GBM in the context of historical disenfranchisement. Successful establishment of a MSM plasma donor policy will require extensive education, explicit communication of how this new policy contributes to continued/stepwise reform of blood donor policies, and considerable reconciliation with diverse GBM communities.


Author(s):  
Елена Георгиевна Гребенщикова

Исходным пунктом теоретического анализа статьи является концепция социотехнического режима, раскрывающая взаимосвязь инерционных и инновационных тенденций, а также взаимовлияние внутринаучных и социокультурных факторов на развитие технонауки. Автор фокусируется на трансформативном потенциале генетических технологий, которые нередко описываются как перспективные, подрывные, платформенные, прорывные и т.п. В центре непосредственного интереса автора находятся технологии редактирования генома человека CRISPR-Cas9 и преимплантационная генетическая диагностика. Они сформировались под воздействием правил, лабораторных практик, академических институтов, рынков, инфраструктуры и т.п. сложившегося к настоящему времени социотехнического режима, на который постепенно стали также оказывать влияние. Вместе с тем инновации в генетике влияют на социальные представления о здоровье и болезни, о природе человека, о соотношении наследственного и социального, о способах предупреждения и лечения многих заболеваний, обещая решить множество проблем в здравоохранении, а в радикальном варианте «улучшить» природу человека. Оценка инноваций обществом в значительной степени обусловлена социально конструируемыми смыслами генетики – метафорами, мифами, образами, нарративами, благодаря которым неизвестное постигается через знакомые дискурсы и символы, встраивается в представления о перспективах развития биотехнонауки. Социальная значимость многих технологий и внимание общества к этой проблематике акцентируют необходимость учитывать социогуманитарные измерения современных инноваций, избегая узкотехнологических и односторонних подходов. При этом коммуникация между наукой и обществом должна быть открытой и конструктивной в том, как разрабатывается технология и какие риски могут возникнуть в результате её использования. Она должна принимать во внимание опыт предыдущей полемики и социальные репрезентации биотехнонауки, как показано в статье на примерах технологий редактирования генома CRISPR-Cas9 и ПГД. Существенную роль в процессах коммуникации может сыграть биоэтика, ориентированная на трансдисциплинарные способы согласования разных позиций, обеспечивающие эффективность и обоснованность процессов социальной акцептации инноваций – приемлемость одних технологий и социальные опасения в отношении других. The starting point of the theoretical analysis of the article is the concept of a sociotechnical regime, which reveals the relationship between inertial and innovative trends, as well as the mutual influence of intrascientific and sociocultural factors on the development of technoscience. The author focuses on the transformative potential of genetic technologies, which are often described as promising, disruptive, platform, breakthrough, etc. In the center of the author’s research interest are the CRISPR-Cas9 human genome editing technology and preimplantation genetic diagnostics. They have been shaped by the regulations, laboratory practices, academic institutions, markets, infrastructure, etc. of the current sociotechnical regime. In turn, they began to influence the regime gradually. Innovations in genetics affect social ideas about health and disease, about human nature, about the ratio of the hereditary and the social, about ways to prevent and treat many diseases, promising to solve many problems in health care and, in a radical version, to “enhance” human nature. The assessment of innovations by society is largely determined by the socially constructed meanings of genetics – metaphors, myths, images, narratives, which allow comprehending the unknown through familiar discourses and symbols, and embedding it in ideas about the prospects for biotechnology development. The social significance of many technologies and the attention of society to this issue emphasize the need to take into account the social and humanitarian dimensions of modern innovations, avoiding narrowly technological and one-sided approaches. At the same time, communication between science and society should be open and constructive in how the technology is developed and what risks may arise as a result of its use. This communication should take into account the experience of previous polemics and social representations of biotechnoscience, as shown in the article using the example of CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing technologies and PGD. Bioethics can play a significant role in communication processes, for it is focused on transdisciplinary ways of coordinating different positions that ensure the efficiency and validity of social acceptance of innovations – the admissibility of some technologies and social concerns about others.


1979 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Kotitschke ◽  
J. Scharrer

F.VIII R:Ag was determined by quantitative immunelectrophoresis (I.E.) with a prefabricated system. The prefabricated system consists of a monospecific f.VIII rabbit antiserum in agarose on a plastic plate for the one and two dimensional immunelectrophoresis. The lognormal distribution of the f.VIII R:Ag concentration in the normal population was confirmed (for n=70 the f.VIII R:Ag in % of normal is = 95.4 ± 31.9). Among the normal population there was no significant difference between blood donors (one blood donation in 8 weeks; for n=43 the f.VIII R:Ag in % of normal is = 95.9 ± 34.0) and non blood donors (n=27;f.VIII R:Ag = 94.6 ± 28.4 %). The f.VIII R:Ag concentration in acute hepatitis B ranged from normal to raised values (for n=10, a factor of 1.8 times of normal was found) and was normal again after health recovery (n=10, the factor was 1.0). in chronic hepatitis the f.VIII R:Ag concentration was raised in the majority of the cases (for n=10, the factor was 3.8). Out of 22 carrier sera 20 showed reduced, 2 elevated levels of the f.VIII R:Ag concentration. in 5 sera no f.VIII R:Ag could be demonstrated. The f.VIII R:Ag concentration was normal for n=10, reduced for n=20 and elevated for n=6 in non A-non B hepatitis (n=36). Contrary to results found in the literature no difference in the electrophoretic mobility of the f.VIII R:Ag was found between hepatitis patients sera and normal sera.


2014 ◽  
Vol 55 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 131-144
Author(s):  
Suzanne Marie Francis

By the time of his death in 1827, the image of Beethoven as we recognise him today was firmly fixed in the minds of his contemporaries, and the career of Liszt was beginning to flower into that of the virtuosic performer he would be recognised as by the end of the 1830s. By analysing the seminal artwork Liszt at the Piano of 1840 by Josef Danhauser, we can see how a seemingly unremarkable head-and-shoulders bust of Beethoven in fact holds the key to unlocking the layers of commentary on both Liszt and Beethoven beneath the surface of the image. Taking the analysis by Alessandra Comini as a starting point, this paper will look deeper into the subtle connections discernible between the protagonists of the picture. These reveal how the collective identities of the artist and his painted assembly contribute directly to Beethoven’s already iconic status within music history around 1840 and reflect the reception of Liszt at this time. Set against the background of Romanticism predominant in the social and cultural contexts of the mid 1800s, it becomes apparent that it is no longer enough to look at a picture of a composer or performer in isolation to understand its impact on the construction of an overall identity. Each image must be viewed in relation to those that preceded and came after it to gain the maximum benefit from what it can tell us.


2019 ◽  
Vol 60 ◽  
pp. 165-170
Author(s):  
Aleksey V.  Lomonosov

The article reveals the social significance of determining the political views of V.V. Rozanov in the system of the thinker’s worldview. The correlation of these views with his political journalism is shown. The genesis of social and political ideas of V.V. Rozanov is revealed. The author specifies his ideological predecessors in the sphere of public thought of the late 19th century and the thinker’s affiliation with the conservative political camp of Russian writers. The author of the article also gives coverage of the V.V. Rozanov’s polemical publications in the press. He outlines the circle of political sympathies and determinative constants in the political views of Rozanov-publicist and proves his commitment to the centrist political parties. The author examines the process of Rozanov’s socio-political views evolution at the turn of the 19th–20th centuries, and the related changes in his political journalism. The evaluations are based on the large layer of Rozanov’s newspaper publicism in the years of 1905–1917. To determine the Rozanov’s position in the “New time” journal editorial office and to reveal the motives of his political essays the author of the article used epistola


Author(s):  
Angela Dranishnikova ◽  
Ivan Semenov

The national legal system is determined by traditional elements characterizing the culture and customs that exist in the social environment in the form of moral standards and the law. However, the attitude of the population to the letter of the law, as a rule, initially contains negative properties in order to preserve personal freedom, status, position. Therefore, to solve pressing problems of rooting in the minds of society of the elementary foundations of the initial order, and then the rule of law in the public sphere, proverbs and sayings were developed that in essence contained legal educational criteria.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
César Costa Vitorino

The book “In search of explanations about African words: an investigation in some Brazilian dictionaries and / or glossaries (1889-2006)” raises controversial and relevant questions about the usefulness of Africanism for Brazil and the delimitation between Afro-Brazilian and africanists studies. The work is one of the results of the work that the author has been developing throughout his long and rich academic life. The author shows enthusiasm for the study of Brazilian Africanism, especially in what concerns on the relationships that are established between words and culture.It shows the participation of African languages in the constitution of the Brazilian Portuguese lexicon, since it considers that studies in this area have been taking place very slowly. Therefore, this work intends to promote the production of future researches that discuss about the social place of African words in Brazilian Portuguese. It makes a point of which we should have no doubt in affirming - unequivocally and systematically - that one can speak of Brazilian Africanism. It takes as a starting point the analysis of dictionaries and glossaries (1889-2006), while taking a retrospective look.It reflects, with such observation, about what is classified as Africanism in the Brazilian Portuguese lexicon. It suggests the need to draw a line between Afro-Brazilian and Africanists studies. Finally, it is expected that such a work can bring new look and perspectives. It is even verified that, in his text, there is a lot of work for everyone. That´s why this work in this book is considered by the author as a singular value.


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