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Should 16-Year-Olds Be Allowed to Donate Blood? A Vermont Perspective
Crowl, Gabriel Daud, Anees Franz, Vanessa Phillips, Nicholas Pinsky, Maia Pons, Jennifer Zingiryan, Areg Dembeck, Carol Frenette, Chris Carney, Jan
Crowl, Gabriel
Daud, Anees
Franz, Vanessa
Phillips, Nicholas
Pinsky, Maia
Pons, Jennifer
Zingiryan, Areg
Dembeck, Carol
Frenette, Chris
Carney, Jan
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Abstract
Introduction: Supplying adequate blood for transfusions is an ongoing challenge for blood collection agencies. One potential source of increased Whole Blood (WB) supply is among 16-17 year-olds, whose donation rates are still quite low. In 2010, donors aged 16-18 years-old provided 14% of all WB collected by the American Red Cross. Young donors may represent an opportunity to establish a committed, long-term blood donation base as they are more likely to return after first donation and donate at a higher yield rate than older donors. However, younger donors also have higher rates of adverse events during donation. Currently, 38 states allow 16 year-olds to donate blood with parental consent but Vermont is not among them. Our study examines the public’s comfort with 16 year-olds donating blood. As blood donation is a voluntary system, ascertaining the perspective of the general population regarding this issue could contribute to a policy debate surrounding the minimum age of donation.
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Date
2012-01-24