Recruiting and retaining young people as voluntary blood donors

Abstract

Lifestyle-related eligibility criteria and changes of residency pose problems for recruitment and retention of young donors. However, a large proportion of young adults state that they are able and willing to donate blood; therefore, the prospects of recruiting young people as voluntary blood donors seem generally positive.

Study of Various Hematological Parameters and Iron Status among Voluntary Blood Donors

“…10 Recruiting a sufficient number of new blood donors is a huge challenge in many countries. 11,12 One of the main reasons for rejection was failing to meet the Hb criteria, predominantly amongst young women. 13 To keep the blood supply sufficient, an increased pressure is laid upon established donors.…”

La géographie du don de sang au Québec : quelles variations régionales ?

“…Dans le même sens, certains travaux révèlent que des facteurs liés à la première expérience de don ou encore au mode de vie des jeunes (déménagements fréquents, perçages, consommation de drogue, etc.) font en sorte qu'il est difficile de les recruter et de les garder comme donneurs réguliers (Misje et al, 2008 ;Notari Iv et al, 2009). À ces facteurs démographiques s'ajoute la question de la population immigrante, puisqu'il est maintenant reconnu que certains membres de communautés ethnoculturelles, pour des raisons culturelles, religieuses ou autres, sont moins enclins à donner du sang (Charbonneau et Tran, 2008).…”

Are university students a favorable target group for blood donation campaigns?

“…Lack of request was the most frequently reported reason for not donating blood among young donors [12,14]. Effective communication is one way of raising awareness among eligible donors while also increasing the frequency of donations.…”

“…Young adults, in general, have good health and may have a long donor career. An increase in the number of younger blood donors gives us an opportunity to improve donor recruitment and its maintenance [4,12]. In Turkey, the number of young people under 28.5 years represents approximately 50% of the population, so it is very important to make efforts in recruiting and retaining this source of young donors in the country [13].…”