Abstract: In recent years, the growing need for blood has led to an increased interest in the reasons why people donate blood. This study was conducted in an effort to determine a key to recruiting of voluntary donors and to ascertain the factors which dispose to or inhibit the donation of blood, among members of a university community. Auspice was provided by Southwest Florida Blood Bank, a non-profit organization serving the Hillsborough County area. The research was done primarily by means of personal interviews, participant observation, and a questionnaire completed by 106 first-time blood donors from the University of South Florida. The questionnaire, which was the main data gathering instrument, included demographic, motivational, and background questions related to blood donation. This thesis discusses conclusions, indicating a clear association between the sex of the respondent and specific motivational variables. "Altruistic/humanitarian" reasons for donating blood are the most often verbalized by respondents, particularly women. "Inconvenience" is the most significant reason for not donating, among men. Other variables associated with sex are: family history of blood donations, medical disqualification, and likelihood of future donations. The analysis of these data provided the basis for explicit recommendations for modifying and improving the recruitment strategies of SWFBB at the University of South Florida. Recommendations stressed six distinct target themes: recruitment, target populations, reinforcement, appeals, access and education. Most importantly, the need to acknowledge the particular characteristics of a university community in terms of its potentiality as a safe and adequate supplier of blood in Hillsborough County is stressed.