Donations as sacred duty

Check out this press release which describes a recently completed blood drive in Iraq. Participation was said to be heavy as workers rushed forward to be donors "as a humanitarian and national sacred duty." This article hit my RSS feed today because of the keyword donor. Not exactly on topic with the types of donations we usually talk about, but I was struck by how impossible it is for me to put myself in the shoes of one of those donors.

Trying to come up with words to describe these donors... courageous, optimistic, and generous come to mind. I used to think I was in the fundraising business because the causes I worked for were so noble... but it's possible I'm in it for the simple reason that donors are the most amazing people on earth and I have a need to understand what goes on in our heads that makes us want to be donors.

Is it just a chemical release of dopamine or do all donors see some kind of humanitarian and national sacred duty in the act of giving?