George Fiddler remembers accompanying his father to the blood donation center as a child. Nearly 60 percent of blood donations come from people older than 40, and nearly45 percent come from people older than 50, according to the American Association of Blood Banks, an international nonprofit focused on transfusion medicine and cellular therapies. The problem for the future is that this pool of dedicated donors is shrinking as this demographic “ages out,” blood donation experts say. “The decline in blood donors has kept pace with the decline in blood usage,” said Steve Bolton, executive director for the Association of Donor Recruitment Professionals. They also like to work together for a good cause, which is why on-campus blood drives and social media marketing are successful.

Source: Daily Sun October 21, 2017 12:00 UTC