Blood donation: why are us young people not giving?
Numbers of young donors are set to drop even further, as from last month regulations were changed to stipulate that the body who regulate NHSBT, SNBT and the Welsh Blood Service, in response to young women being at higher risk of fainting due to their lower blood volume.
A problem with this system is that a woman aged 17, 18 or 19 – who has previously given blood without problems – will be prevented from donating again at her next scheduled appointment. This will not encourage donor loyalty.
There is currently no data predicting what impact this will have on the donor base and the blood service is being forced to review the way they recruit young donors. Running a donor drive in a school, college or university will obviously be less successful if a large number of female donors are no longer eligible.
So why is it so important for young people to be blood donors?
Jonathon Sewell, NHSBT’s lead donor relations manager for the South West, says: “Quite simply young people are the blood donors of the future. It may sound like a bit of a corny marketing phrase but it does allow us to say to people ‘if you don’t donate there won’t be a blood supply’.
“It is about looking at the future and building resilience in the donor base by making people of the younger generation – say 17 through to 21 – realise that we need them for their entire donation career.