Blood donations have fallen to catastrophic levels. Experts say young people need to step up.
Blood donations have fallen, sparking shortages in hospitals. Fewer young people are donating blood, due to changes in requirements as well the pandemic.
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.
A Red Cross shirt featuring Snoopy drove blood donations among young people last year.American Red CrossThe Snoopy campaign’s intent, the Red Cross said, was to prompt teens and young adults to give blood for the first time. That would hopefully spark lifelong habits of donating — habits that could help reverse a decadeslong decline in blood donations.
“In the last 20 years, we’ve seen about a 40% decrease in donors overall to the Red Cross,” Gehrie said. “The earlier that we can connect with someone, and they donate in high school, they typically will become lifelong donors.”
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