Older Australians encouraged to give blood as supplies dwindle

14 June 2022

Professor Barbara Masser from UQ’s School of Psychology spoke to Brisbane Times about the importance of older Australians who haven't donated blood before to become blood donors to help blood supplies.

Experts are urging older Australians to become blood donors to help fill a short-term gap caused by the ongoing pandemic and flu season.

Professor Masser is the Australian Red Cross Lifeblood Donor Research Chair and an expert on blood donor recruitment and retention.

She said people typically start donating relatively early in their life and then keep donating, while people who did not have a history of donating were unlikely to start later in life.

“There’s been a big focus on young donors for a long time, but when you look at who are the donors who come back more frequently and consistently it is people over 50,” she said.

“The trouble is it’s not something people tend to take up when they’re older – people will continue to donate through to their later years, but it’s not common for someone to start post-50.”

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