Blood drives often use soft, low-density foam balls to encourage donors to keep their hands active. This provides distraction and makes the experience more pleasant, but the foam ball was not as satisfying as this form, which is made from silicone.
In order to promote blood drives and make donating more comfortable, I developed this form to be given as a take-home thank you to donors. Not only would squeezing it give donors something to focus on during their donation, but keeping their hands active encourages blood flow and increases the chance of a successful donation. Furthermore, a take-home gift would serve as a reminder to donate again.
Diving into research by donating blood, I was given a foam baseball to squeeze and found it too small, too soft, and uninteresting. I enjoyed having something to do with my hand, but wanted to be more engaged.
Form exploration with blue foam to determine proper size and shape.
Donors are instructed to rotate the form in their hands or squeeze gently, not tightening the muscles in their arms. The shape of this form is easily manipulated in many ways and provides adequate resistance to squeezing.