133
Blood donations have fallen to catastrophic levels. Experts say young people need to step up. (www.nbcnews.com)
submitted 5 months ago by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/health@lemmy.world
98 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Changes to the requirements for donating blood coupled with the pandemic have led to a drop-off in the number of teens and young adults donating blood.

It was a white T-shirt bearing the likeness of Snoopy wearing shades and leaning effortlessly against the iconic American Red Cross logo that prompted a surge in blood donations in the spring of 2023.

“Be cool. Give blood,” the shirt urged. The message — on young people, anyway — was effective. More than 70,000 people under age 35 responded to the call, rolling up their sleeves and giving blood in exchange for the coveted tees.

The need for blood is urgent. Over the holidays, the Red Cross had 7,000 fewer units of blood available than were needed by hospitals, said Dr. Eric Gehrie, the executive medical director of the American Red Cross. The organization speculated it would need about 8,000 additional donations every week in January to ensure that hospitals are fully supplied, he added.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[-] JimmyBigSausage@lemm.ee 55 points 5 months ago

Especially when they sell it?

[-] Pons_Aelius@kbin.social 65 points 5 months ago

Exactly.

Scenario: A person regularly donates blood for years and receives no benefit from it.

Later they need to receive transfusions due to surgery or medical emergency.

They are charged several thousand dollars for the transfusions, the same amount as a person who has never donated.

What is their motivation to donate again?

[-] JimmyBigSausage@lemm.ee 13 points 5 months ago

There is very little.

[-] Meowoem@sh.itjust.works 5 points 5 months ago

I wonder if the same trend exists here in the UK or other countries with national health service.

I must say paying people to give blood seems like a horrible idea, it incentivizers people with reasons not to give blood such as illness or drug use to lie. Sadly testing and screening isn't very effective so it would likely cause problems.

[-] Pons_Aelius@kbin.social 14 points 5 months ago

I'm from a country with universal health care that is paid via a tax levy that all pay.

We are not paid to donate but we are also provided transfusions for no charge as well.

We do not have the issues mentioned in this article.

[-] emergencyfood@sh.itjust.works 2 points 5 months ago

We (India) have free healthcare for the poor and subsidised healthcare for everyone else. Blood will therefore be free / discounted at a government hospital, but private hospitals can charge money. Donors must not be paid (including gifts, coupons, etc.) in either case, but some hospitals give a card or token saying you get priority if you ever need blood at that hospital.

[-] BraveSirZaphod@kbin.social 2 points 5 months ago

Being a selfless person and knowing you've helped someone?

[-] Pons_Aelius@kbin.social 8 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

Yes, the warm glow of altruistic service to the community is a strong one but it is often hard to maintain in the face of looming bankruptcy due to medical debt.

[-] Crashumbc@lemmy.world -1 points 5 months ago

Did that change? At one time if you donated blood, you didn't charge if you later needed blood...

[-] doingless@lemmy.world 5 points 5 months ago

Yeah that isn't a thing now. I've never heard of it. Was that like the '60s?

this post was submitted on 18 Jan 2024
133 points (94.6% liked)

Health - Resources and discussion for everything health-related

2021 readers
221 users here now

Health: physical and mental, individual and public.

Discussions, issues, resources, news, everything.

See the pinned post for a long list of other communities dedicated to health or specific diagnoses. The list is continuously updated.

Nothing here shall be taken as medical or any other kind of professional advice.

Commercial advertising is considered spam and not allowed. If you're not sure, contact mods to ask beforehand.

Linked videos without original description context by OP to initiate healthy, constructive discussions will be removed.

Regular rules of lemmy.world apply. Be civil.

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
WhoRoger@lemmy.world
RoyalEngineering@lemmy.world
Awa@lemmy.world