The development of donation of blood and its components is a strategic direction of the healthcare system. Active work on attracting donors and forming a base of regular donors serves as an important factor in the system of providing the population with donor blood components.The research question is to identify motives, incentives and barriers to blood donation in Russia. This issue is considered on the example of Belgorod and Kursk regions, where the number of blood donors and its components per 1000 population is lower than the national average. The aim of the article is to develop recommendations for the development of blood donation and its components in the Russian Federation. The study uses sociological, statistical, and econometric research methods. The article is based on the analysis of annual reports prepared for FMBA of Russia by blood service organizations of Belgorod and Kursk regions from 2019 to 2021. The method of collecting primary information is a survey of blood donors and its components and the population of Belgorod and Kursk regions, conducted in March-May 2022. Based on the results of the survey it is shown that the effectiveness of advertising campaigns to promote voluntary and non-remunerated blood donation and its components is not high enough, donor traffic light is not currently an effective tool to inform the population about the current status of blood stocks and need for individual components of donor blood. A social portrait of a donor, which is reasonable to use for the adjustment of marketing activities in terms of increasing the coverage of the target audience, has been compiled. The article formulates recommendations for the development of donation of blood and its components.