With blood donation rates declining around the world, Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Gothenburg, Sweden, enlisted modern technology to provide blood donors with a more personal connection to their good deeds. People who donate blood now receive a text message when their blood has been used to improve, or even save, someone else’s life. Introduced in 2015, this system of positive, instant feedback is intended to encourage citizens to become repeat donors.
Give blood, get a cookie ... and a text:
- The American Red Cross and NHS Blood and Transplant in the UK have also begun similar programs in the past few years. The NHS even tells donors which hospital is receiving their blood.
- The UK's National Health Service says that there is a particular need for people of South Asian or African descent to donate, as those two communities are more likely to have rarer blood types.
- In the United States, both men and women can donate blood as often as every two months. In the United Kingdom, men can give blood every three months, and women every four months.