Recruiting and retaining young blood donors: recent evidence and next steps

Individuals under 30 represent a small share of the already limited blood donor pool, making their recruitment and retention critical to maintaining a sustainable blood supply. This article presents a narrative review of 13 recent studies (published since 2023) on engaging younger blood donors and discusses the effectiveness of emerging interventions. We find that existing interventions primarily target three mechanisms: (1) awareness, (2) engagement, and (3) emotional arousal. Findings suggest that educational approaches can increase knowledge and reduce misconceptions, social and community-based interventions can initially strengthen motivation and participation, and interventions targeting anxiety can improve donation experiences, particularly among younger and first-time donors. However, evidence of sustained behavioural change remains limited, as most studies rely on short-term outcomes and self-reported intentions rather than observed donation behaviour. The findings suggest that increasing young donor participation requires coordinated action across educational institutions, blood collection agencies, and social communities, as each is positioned to influence different stages of the donor journey. At the same time, the review reveals a structural “vacancy” in donor development: while responsibility for influencing young donors is distributed across multiple actors, no actor is clearly positioned to coordinate and sustain these efforts. We argue that strengthening the future donor base requires not only effective interventions but also system-level approaches that address this coordination gap.