National Blood Donor Month: Blood donation amongst younger donors drops, need unchanged

GREENVILLE, S.C. (FOX Carolina) - Every two seconds someone needs blood, and there’s no substitute for it. This month is National Blood Donor Month, a time when more blood is needed. The Blood Connection says those 35 and under aren’t donating like their parents and grandparents. That’s concerning when considering the need remains unchanged.

Pedestrian traffic is steady at the Prisma Health Family YMCA in Simpsonville, but on this day, people also changed up their normal workout routine.

“I think it’s important to start giving in any way that you can when you’re young and just finding ways to reach out,” said Natalie Finch.

17-year-old Finch donated blood Monday afternoon inside a Blood Connection mobile unit along with a line of other people.

“Even if I never need it, I know that somebody else does,” Finch said.

“Whenever I see an opportunity to do it, I donate,” added Anthony Ali. “It saves a life.”

The Blood Connection’s Katie Smithson says it takes more than 50 mobile units on the streets each day and 13 physical centers to ensure 800 to 1,000 units of blood are collected to keep all Upstate hospitals ready.

“At any moment that inventory can be depleted,” Smithson said.

Numbers The Blood Connection monitors, just like the number of those 35 and under whose numbers have also dropped.

“As the majority of blood donors age, if we don’t see that younger group start to donate at the same frequency – we’re seeing less people turn out overall,” Smithson said. “It’s not just the responsibility of our parents and grandparents, to hold up this blood supply. It’s (a collective) responsibility to make sure that our hospitals and our local hospital patients have the blood products they need.”

Which is why The Blood Connection urges the public to add blood donation to their 2023 goals list.

“You’re making your list of what you want to do in 2023, and there’s no reason why you can’t add onto that list ‘save a life,’” Smithson said. “A lot of times we talk about making a list of goals and your new year’s resolutions and people always tell you to make sure they’re attainable and achievable. So that you can measure them. Well you can put saving a life on your new year’s resolutions list, and you can check that off when you donate blood.”

Finch’s one pint means three lives are saved: A win for her, The Blood Connection, strangers, and the younger generation of donors.

“You’re first eligible when you’re 16 if you have a parents consent, and so I first did it when I was 16, a couple times,” Finch said.

You can donate blood every 56 days. Additionally, if you’re ineligible to donate right now for medical reasons, The Blood Connection encourages you to stay up to date on any changes. To learn more, visit https://thebloodconnection.org/important-donor-information/

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