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Whether it’s a shortage of skilled workers, the pension system or the healthcare system: the baby boomer generation poses challenges to society in almost all areas. However, the topic of blood donation is rarely the focus. Boomers nationwide give out the most of the red lifeblood. Given the demographic development, this is likely to be a problem in Bremen too. “The decline in donations due to the loss of the baby boomer generation is still ahead of us,” predicts Markus Baulke, spokesman for the NSTOB blood donation service of the German Red Cross (DRK) responsible for Bremen. The data also suggests this. An analysis.
Which age groups donate the most blood in Bremen?
The older generation is the backbone of the system. According to the DRK, they donate blood more frequently and regularly than younger age groups. In Bremen, 50 to 59 year olds are in first place. Last year, almost one in four donations flowed from their veins into the bag. Compared to 2017, the record year of the past 20 years, the value remained stable (-0.1 percent). At that time, the DRK recorded 16,946 people willing to donate at 235 appointments. In 2023 there were 14,700 with 169 appointments.
Together with the over-60 group, which also includes the boomer generation with the highest birth rate in 1964, the “best agers” will account for around 41.1 percent of all blood donations in Bremen in 2023 (-0.2 percent compared to 2017).
Why are boomers becoming a problem?
“Even if donors from the baby boomer generation are compensated, donations will decline,” says Baulke. The average age of donors in Bremen is currently 43.5 years, which is almost the same as the average age of the population (as of 2023: 43.3 years).
Bremen has aged significantly between 1970 and 2022. While one in seven residents was over 65 years old back then, in 2022 it will be one in five. The proportion of people under 20 fell from 27 to 19 percent over the period. A growing proportion of older people in the Hanseatic city is expected by 2070.
What is the current blood supply situation in Bremen?
After bottlenecks in August, the DRK is currently able to meet the clinics’ needs. But the demand for blood from healthy people is increasing. The supply situation is most tense for blood groups 0, A+ and B-. “The donations are not sufficient to build up enough buffers in the stocks,” says the spokesman for the blood donation service. There are currently 12,000 preparations in storage. The minimum stock is 10,000.
How high is the willingness to donate in the state of Bremen?
In order to ensure the supply of blood components in the Hanseatic city, around 15,000 people are needed every year to donate. The willingness to give up half a liter of the vital fluid is at the pre-Corona level. In 2018 there were 14,840 people willing to donate, in 2023 there were 14,700.
How much does it cost to supply the clinics with blood?
According to the NSTOB, the costs for recruiting donors, organizing appointments, producing preparations, the necessary laboratory tests and logistics amount to around 140 euros per donation. “These costs are billed to the clinics,” emphasizes Baulke. Little fun fact: In 2023 there were 77.3 blood donors per appointment. That’s 38.7 liters of blood per appointment.
What is the solution to the blood donation problem?
For the DRK, the topic of blood donation is a generational project. “The blood supply can only be secured in the future if people born after 1990 and also people in middle age are persuaded to donate blood,” said Kerstin Schweiger, spokeswoman for the DRK Blood Donation Service North-East.
A ray of hope: In 2023, 20 to 29 year olds made up the second most spendable age group in Bremen at 21.2 percent (-0.1 percent compared to 2017). Compared to the record year of 2017, the strongest increases were among 30 to 39 year olds. The number of donors there grew by 3.9 percentage points to 18.3 percent.
Another plus, according to Baulke: “Due to its urban structure, Bremen has a high number of first-time donors.” However, the frequency of how often someone donates is below the value in Lower Saxony.
Info
On average, the German Red Cross offers around 180 blood donation appointments in Bremen every year. The next dates including reservation options are available here. To the home page
