Doctor Rachel Thorpe

A photo of Dr Rachel Thorpe

Dr Rachel Thorpe

Senior Research Fellow

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
A scoping review of sociology of voluntary blood donation
Raivola V, Thorpe R
2024
Vox Sanguinis
119(7):639-647
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
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
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