More than a third of Britons would donate blood if they were paid to do so

More than a third of Britons would donate blood if they were paid to do so, according to a new study by YouGov.

A survey of 1,626 people in the UK found that more than a third (37 per cent) of those who are not currently donors would be likely to do so if they were offered financial rewards, with one in six (17 per cent) stating they would be “very likely”.

Young people in particular are more likely to state they would donate blood if they were paid to do so, with the number of potential donors rising to 47 per cent of non-donors aged 18-24, and 46 per cent aged 25-49 if money was involved.

A YouGov poll from October found that just seven per cent of Britons said they currently donate blood, with a further three in 10 (30 per cent) having donated blood in the past, but no longer doing so.

A majority of Britons (58 per cent) said they had never given blood, however.

And while one in nine (11 per cent) of 18-24-year-olds said they currently donated blood, seven in 10 (70 per cent) said they never had.

Blood donation in the UK is entirely voluntary and unpaid, but in some countries, such as the US, Germany, Austria and certain provinces of Canada, people are remunerated for giving blood.

However, the World Health Organisation (WHO) wants to move towards 100 per cent voluntary, non-paid blood donation in every country, as bloodborne infections are lowest among voluntary, unpaid blood donors.

When asked why they had never given blood previously, the top reason given is medical reasons and medication, with a quarter (25 per cent) of those surveyed saying they were prohibited from doing so.

Conditions that could prohibit someone from donating blood include jaundice, anaemia, low iron levels, blood transfusions and being underweight (to give blood, you must weight between seven stone, 12 ounces, and 25 stone).

Twice as many women (34 per cent) say they are ineligible to donate on medical grounds, compared with 16 per cent of men.

Elsewhere, one in nine Britons (11 per cent) who have never donated blood say a fear of needles prevents them from doing so, while seven per cent say they “never get around to it”.

A further seven per cent believe themselves to be ineligible on the grounds of low blood pressure, sexuality, and tattoos (donors have to wait four months from the date of a body piercing or tattoo to give blood).

Controversial rules regarding a donor’s sexuality were changed in December 2020 with guidance now stating that donors who have had one sexual partner and who have been with their partner for more than three months, will be eligible to donate regardless of their gender, the gender of their partner, or the type of sex they have.

The news comes just weeks after the NHS issued an ‘amber alert’ after stocks of O-type blood - the most common blood type - fell to critically low levels.

Now, the NHS is searching for 5,000 new O-negative blood donors in a mass testing campaign in a bid to replenish stocks and encourage people to become long-term donors.