BACKGROUND: Blood donors with high-risk behaviors may not self-defer because they failed to read or understand the screening educational materials. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: In 1993, a total of 34,726 allogeneic donors responded to an anonymous mail survey of 50,162 donors that inquired about demographics, donor status, amount of the donor educational materials read, new HIV knowledge gained, and donors’ opinions on the length and difficulty of materials. RESULTS: Although 78 percent reported reading all materials, only 32 percent indicated reading carefully; 34 percent learned new information about HIV and 95 percent perceived the materials as easy to understand. First-time donors were more likely to read carefully (OR, 7.9) and gain more HIV knowledge from the materials (OR, 1.9) than repeat donors. Minority, less educated, screening test-reactive, and HIV test-seeking donors reported reading the materials more carefully and learning more about HIV than their respective counterparts. Donors with less education, those with reactive screening tests, those seeking HIV test results, and those not reporting a risk behavior were more likely to find the materials difficult to understand. CONCLUSION: Most donors reported skimming and not having difficulty understanding the educational materials. Some donors may be aware that they should not donate or are failing to assimilate the information in the materials. Methods to present information more clearly and concisely are clearly needed. However, some high-risk donors may still continue donating no matter how improved the educational materials are.
