The Welsh Blood Service is calling for the next generation of university students, staff and their local communities in Wales to become blood donors with the launch of a new campaign.
The ‘University of Lifesavers’ campaign calls on university students and staff to become blood donors and join the Welsh Blood Service’s stem cell registry, as well as calling on universities across Wales to play a pivotal role in engaging their students and staff across campuses.
The Welsh Blood Service collects roughly 100,000 blood donations every year to meet demand across the 19 hospitals it serves in Wales. However, just 3% of the eligible population in Wales currently donates, and less than 15% of those are under the age of 30. It is vital that more young people begin their blood donation journeys to ensure the Service can continue to meet demand.
Each donation has the potential to save up to three lives by supporting a range of treatments, from helping recovering accident victims and patients with blood cancers, to supporting mothers and newborn babies during childbirth.
The Welsh Blood Service has already been working with universities across Wales for a number of years resulting in nearly 3,400 donations per year, with many hosting their own blood donation sessions for students and staff, hosting or promoting local community sessions, or hosting stem cell swab drives.
The University of Lifesavers campaign aims to build on these strong relationships by calling on all universities across Wales to support blood donation and stem cell volunteer recruitment.
The Welsh Blood Service also aims to recruit 6,000 people aged 16-30 and 16 to-45 from black, Asian, mixed or minority ethnic backgrounds to its stem cell registry every year. Currently, around 2,000 people in the UK require a stem cell transplant each year. Three in ten patients won’t find a match and that rises to seven in ten for patients from a black, Asian, mixed or minority ethnic background.
Swansea University has hosted blood donation sessions at its Bay and Singleton Campuses since 2019, resulting in nearly 3,000 donations from students, staff and members of the public which have potentially saved almost 9,000 lives.
Bleddyn Carter, Marketing & Communications Manager at Swansea University Students’ Union, said: “At Swansea University Students’ Union, we are proud to support the Welsh Blood Service, and the lifesaving work they do across Wales. Each year we work together to host on-campus blood donation sessions, encourage our students and staff to donate, and promote the importance of giving blood.
“Our partnership has extended to events like the Welsh Varsity bone marrow drive, where our student community comes together to make a real difference. We value this ongoing relationship and are committed to continuing our support for the University of Lifesavers campaign in helping to save lives.”
Bangor University is another long-term supporter of the Welsh Blood Service, having hosted its first blood donation session in 2018. Since then, 1,200 donations have been made on campus, saving up to 3,600 lives.
As a result of those sessions, medical student Ben Morgan joined the Welsh Blood Service as an ambassador.
Ben said: “Being a blood ambassador for Bangor University is a great privilege and an incredibly rewarding experience. As a medical student, I’m seeing first-hand just how vital blood donations are. Being an ambassador means I get to play an active role in both the student and local community by raising awareness of the importance of blood donation and signing up to the Welsh Blood Service stem cell registry.
“I’ll certainly been enrolling at the University of Lifesavers and will be encouraging my fellow students to do the same.”
Director of the Welsh Blood Service, Alan Prosser, said: “We are facing a generational divide in blood donation, which presents significant challenges as we look to the future.
“We need more young people to become blood donors and join our stem cell registry to ensure we can meet demand and save lives for generations to come.
“Universities are uniquely placed to help us engage students in all corners of the country. We are incredibly proud of the lives saved through our existing relationships with universities, but there is more to do.”
To find out how your school or college can support the Welsh Blood Service, visit the University of Lifesavers (www.wbs.wales/UniversityOfLifesavers) page for more information and resources, or email: wbs.communitypartnership@wales.nhs.uk
