ArticleVox sanguinis2026
Demographics and donor motivation drive declining blood donations: A 15-year study in Germany reflecting trends in high-income countries.
Article in Vox sanguinis, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- From Donation to Innovation: New Blood-Derived Products.Transfusion medicine and hemotherapy : offizielles Organ der Deutschen Gesellschaft fur Transfusionsmedizin und Immunhamatologie · 2026Review
- Demographics and donor motivation drive declining blood donations: A 15-year study in Germany reflecting trends in high-income countries.Vox sanguinis · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND
objectivesAgeing populations in high-income countries reduce the proportion of potential blood donors while increasing transfusion demand. Sustaining an adequate blood supply requires higher donor motivation among younger age groups. We analysed long-term trends in whole blood donations (WBDs) in one German federal state as an indicator for challenges that may arise in other high-income countries. MATERIALS AND
methodsIn our prospective longitudinal study (starting 2005), we obtained the age and sex of the donors of all WBDs in the German federal state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania in 2019 and 2020 and compared them with the data from 2005 to 2015. Population data from the German statistical office were used to predict future WBD in two models, population-based and population-based with behaviour-adjusted prediction.
resultsWBD decreased from 118,419 in 2005 to 83,871 in 2019 (-29.2%) and 76,912 in 2020 (-35.1%). Donation rates per 1000 inhabitants declined by 19.1% between 2005 and 2019, indicating a loss of donor motivation beyond demographic effects. Based on the donation numbers of 2019, we predict a further decline of WBD in 2030 by -12.7% (population-based projection) or -15.1% (behaviour-adjusted projection), respectively.
conclusionThe decline in blood donations is no longer solely driven by demographic changes but also by reduced motivation among younger donors. As ageing populations and changing donor behaviour are common to many high-income countries, these findings likely reflect an emerging international trend. Targeted strategies to recruit and retain young donors are urgently needed to ensure sustainable blood supplies in ageing societies.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.