Young donors overtaken by older people giving blood

OLDER blood donors outnumber younger volunteers for the first time in five years, NHS figures show.

NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) said that the proportion of regular donors in England aged 17 to 24 has fallen to almost half the rate it was five years ago.

In 2017-18, those aged 17 to 24 made up 13.07 per cent of the donor pool but in 2022-23, this fell to 7.2 per cent.

Meanwhile, the proportion of donors over the age of 45 has steadily increased year on year, and this year surpassed half of all those donating.

About 408,000, or 51.1 per cent, of the 798,000 people who regularly give blood are aged 45 or over.

To be considered a regular donor, a person must have given blood within the past 12 months.

Older donors are now in the majority in every region of England except for London, NHSBT said.

More than one in 10 donors is over 65, and the proportion is the highest it has been in the past five years, the data showed, at 10.33 per cent. NHSBT is calling on under-35s to come forward and give blood this year, to meet growing demand and tackle a shortage.

It is also re-starting face-to-face recruitment events, such as at freshers fairs, which had to be stopped during the pandemic to encourage younger people to donate.

Dr Jo Farrar, the chief executive of NHSBT, said: “Because lifesaving blood only has a short shelf life, we need to constantly collect it and need a steady stream of new donors.

“For the first time in five years, we have more donors who are aged over 45 than under, so it has never been more important for younger people to become lifesavers by giving blood.

“Giving blood feels great. In just one hour you can save up to three lives. Please register and book your first appointment today.”

NHSBT needs to collect 1.45 million units of blood each year to meet the needs of patients across England.

NHSBT is also trying to recruit more donors with black heritage.

They are more likely to have the blood type “urgently needed” to treat people with the genetic blood disorder sickle cell.