On the hunt for young blood

Facing an aging donor base that could lead to an inadequate supply, blood banks across the country are ramping up efforts to woo younger generations to donate regularly. Without more regular millennial donors, the health care consequences could be severe.

"People need to understand that the demand is constant," said Kate Fry, CEO of America's Blood Centers, an organization of independent community blood collection centers.

While the majority of blood donations come from those over 40, less than one-fifth of donations are from people ages 20 to 34, according to blood donation center data. There is no maximum age to donate, but as donors grow older, they are more likely to be turned away for taking certain medications or failing to meet health requirements, said Phillip Lybrand, communications and content manager for Austin's blood bank, We Are Blood.Blood shortages can have serious consequences, Lybrand said, especially for an organization like We Are Blood, which is the exclusive supplier for more than 40 area hospitals and medical facilities. He said it can affect whether patients are able to schedule surgeries and receive cancer treatments and how hospitals respond to crises.

"People rise up when a crisis happens, but we really need the blood on the shelf before they happen," Lybrand said. He said that his organization needs to collect 200 donations a day across all types of donations to meet the demand of the medical facilities they serve.

Blood donations are popular among high schoolers, but fewer young people donate as they get busy with college and professional life, Lybrand said. And as more workers telecommute or work in nontraditional office spaces, large corporate drives that might have reached young professionals have become less common, according to blood collection centers. But perhaps the biggest reason millennials do not donate blood as often, Fry and Lybrand agree, is they simply do not think to donate.

"They just aren't aware," Lybrand said. "They take on a lot more priorities, and it becomes hard for us to stay top of mind. We have to think of ways to wave our hands and remind them we are here."

Jacob Gonzales, a 20-year-old University of Texas student who donates at We Are Blood, experienced this when he went to college. He started donating blood in high school when he went with his father but simply did not think to donate during college until recently when a friend mentioned he had donated and he felt it was something he should resume.

A further issue is that young people who do want to donate could be turned away. Lybrand said that We Are Blood experienced higher deferral rates than expected at universities this year, probably due to poor diets and dehydration among college students, as well as travel deferrals.

Blood collection centers are trying new, creative ways to attract millennial donors. We Are Blood has been reaching out to gamers, among the latest targeted efforts to attract young donors. Lybrand said the organization, which serves 10 counties in Central Texas, has been eager to connect with gamers because Austin has a prominent gaming community. This summer, during a season in which donations tend to drop, We Are Blood, as a partner of Blood Centers of America, a national blood supply network, is partnering with e-sports organization Team Liquid to give out a special red Team Liquid T-shirt to anyone who mentions the campaign.

In May, We Are Blood partnered with Austin Tattoo Co. to produce a video to combat the misconception that donors are automatically deferred for a year if they get a tattoo. If you get a tattoo at a Texas licensed shop, the video explained, you can give blood the same day.

Among the more successful campaigns was the American Red Cross' "Bleed for the Throne" campaign, which launched at South by Southwest in March. It offered “Game of Thrones” fans a free themed poster and a chance to win a full-size Iron Throne if they donated during April, when the final season of Game of Thrones premiered.

Jan Hale, communications director for the American Red Cross in Texas and Oklahoma, said that the American Red Cross has been increasing its digital presence to help with outreach, optimizing its app and customer service chat windows and offering text reminders to make it easy to find out where to donate and make an appointment.

"We're trying to meet people where they are," Hale said.

David Kristek, a 23-year-old regular platelet donor at We Are Blood, said phone and email communication from blood banks helps remind him of the need for donations.

"I just like to be able to help out, and I don't think it's that much of an impact on my life," Kristek said. "It's the least I could do."

How to help

We Are Blood, which serves 40 medical centers in 10 Central Texas counties, says it needs to receive at least 200 blood donations a day to maintain an adequate blood supply. For more information or to make an appointment to donate online, visit weareblood.org/donate-blood/make-an-appointment.