Episode 24: Michael Haylock and Nudging Donors: Behavioural Insights from a Stem Cell Registry

This episode's guest is Michael Haylock, a health economist now working in consulting after a postdoc at the University of Duisburg-Essen. He presents his paper “Improving the availability of stem cell donors,  a letter and email intervention” which looks at the effects of a behavioural intervention to reduce attrition among registered donors. We talk about the importance and logistics of stem cell donation, how commitment nudges can help identify more reliable donors, and the challenges of working with large registries. Michael also discusses a second paper on pro-social workplace behaviour, showing how leadership and personality shape helping cultures. The working paper is titled "Helping in the Workplace: The Role of Leadership and Employee Personality and Preferences". The episode ends with reflections on PhD life advice and transitioning to consultancy. 

Guest: Michael Haylock, Health Economist at bcmed GmbH
Hosts: Fanny Tallgren & Prithviraj Basu Mallik
Disclaimer: The views expressed are Michael’s own and do not represent those of his current or previous institutions.

Timestamps:

(00:23) Introduction to Michael Haylock and his research background

(03:56) What is the bone marrow registry and why stem cell donation matters

(08:29) How the donor–patient matching and international coordination works

(13:16) High attrition rates among registered donors and behavioural intervention design

(18:03) Summary of key findings: commitment nudges and donor reliability

(30:13) Second paper: helping behaviour in the workplace and leadership roles

(36:00) Trust, altruism, and personality as drivers of workplace cooperation

(43:39) Transitioning from academia to consulting: motivation and differences

(51:00) Productivity advice for PhD students and research workflow tips