Doctor Rachel Thorpe

A photo of Dr Rachel Thorpe

Dr Rachel Thorpe

Senior Research Fellow
Donor Research 

Honorary Senior Fellow, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne

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Rachel is a health sociologist. She uses social theories to investigate donation and donors within the context of their lives, social systems and changing technologies. A key focus of her current research is examining barriers and enablers to donation for older people and donor perspectives on the use of genomic technologies in transfusion medicine.
She has over 40 peer-reviewed publications and holds an international leadership role with the International Society for Blood Transfusion.

Awards
  • 2023 AI on NHMRC partnership project Infectious pathogens and associated risk factors in blood donors: protecting the blood supply while providing a window into the wider community. 
  • 2022 CI on ARC linkage Engaging the over 50s to ensure the sustainability of our blood supply. 
  • 2022 CI on MRFF The Australian Genetic Diversity Database: towards a more equitable future for genomic medicine in Australia 

     

 

Leadership
  • Chair of the ISBT Donors and Donations Working Party (2024-Present)
  • Peer reviewer for Vox Sanguinis, Transfusion, Sociology of Health and Illness, BMJ Open
  • Peer reviewer for AABB conference abstracts
  • Peer reviewer for AABB foundation grants
  • Supervisor for Honours, Masters and PhD students

Key publications

Recoding the gift relationship: views on introducing genomic testing to blood donation
Thorpe R, Raivola V, Masser B
2024
New Genetics and Society
43(1):e2317709
View publication
A scoping review of sociology of voluntary blood donation
Raivola V, Thorpe R
2024
Vox Sanguinis
119(7):639-647
View publication
The health impacts of blood donation: A systematic review of donor and non-donor perceptions
Thorpe R, Masser BM, Coundouris SP, Hyde MK, Kruse SP, Davison TE
2023
Blood Transfusion
22(1):7-19
View publication
A rapid review of strategies to manage low iron levels in adults donating whole-blood: A focus on donor behaviour.
Thijsen A, Gemelli CN, Hyde MK, Thorpe R, Masser BM
2024
Transfusion Medicine
34(4):243-256
View publication
Still willing and able to contribute: donor perspectives on donating blood in later life.
Thorpe R., Masser B. M., Nguyen L and Davison T.E
2021
ISBT science series
16(2):139-146
View publication

Dr Rachel Thorpe articles

An illlustration of two people holding giant blood drops, against a ribbon device
Unlocking the potential of Filipino blood donors: a giving and engaging community

Did you know that blood types go beyond A, B, and O? In fact, there are over 350 different blood types, and some of those are more common in people with particular ethnic ancestry.

Find out more
illustration of four people in white lab coats
Research study update: Beyond the iron gate

People with Hereditary haemochromatosis (HHC) who donate at Lifeblood reported that they feel more like donors than patients. This suggests that Lifeblood could change the way we communicate with them, as we currently communicate with them as “patients”. They did not know much about plasma and had mixed views on being able to donate plasma.

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illustration of a scientist in a white lab coat standing alongside a woman holding a large red blood droplet
Communicating with donors who have rare blood types

What does it mean to find out you’re rare? Lifeblood researchers set out to explore the experience of donors learning of their rare blood type: what it means for them, their donation behaviour and perspectives on the communications received.

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