Demographic Changes: The Impact for Safe Blood Supply

Abstract

The population structure in most European countries is currently changing, with a shift from younger to older age groups. Only sparse data exist on the impact of these demographic changes on future blood demand and supply. Data on blood recipients are sparse and unconnected to data on blood donors. The first part of this review summarizes studies on the effect of the demographic change on blood supply and demand. With respect to studies in North America and Europe on the impact of demographic changes on future blood supply, the demographic trends will affect many regions in the Western world similarly. These effects are most pronounced in the new member states of the European Union where birth rates declined abruptly after 1989. Coordinated efforts will be required to prevent blood shortages based upon these demographic trends in Western societies. The second part of this review is an overview of methodological approaches to obtain data on the sociodemographic background of the blood donor population.

La géographie du don de sang au Québec : quelles variations régionales ?

“…Par contre, il ne faut pas négliger la forte présence des jeunes (avant 30 ans), particulièrement des jeunes femmes au sein des donneurs, ce qui était aussi le cas dans l'étude de Saberton et al (2009), du moins en ce qui a trait à la relation positive entre la population jeune (15-24 ans) et les taux de donneurs par secteur de recensement. À cet égard, la rétention des donneurs entre 30 et 45 ans doit faire partie d'une planification future : le « vide » qui existe entre 30 et 45 ans, combiné à l'écart qui se creuse entre les hommes et les femmes à partir de ces âges va rapidement devenir une préoccupation, en particulier dans le contexte actuel de vieillissement de la population (Hollingsworth et Wildman, 2004 ;Greinacher et al, 2010 ;Ringwald, 2010). En tenant compte de la démographie québécoise, nous pouvons déjà affirmer que la cohorte de futurs donneurs qui ont aujourd'hui 30 ans est moins importante.…”

Missing Minorities – A survey based description of the current state of minority blood donor recruitment across 23 countries

“…Models that predict demographic developments paint a bleak picture for the future balance of blood demand and supply due to an aging population (Greinacher et al, 2007;Ali et al, 2010;Greinacher et al, 2010;Desalvo et al, 2011;. Complex therapeutic procedures like haematopoietic stem cell transplantation, cardiovascular surgery and solid organ transplantation will be options for an increasing proportion of older patients.…”

Utilisation of Blood Components in Cardiac Surgery: A Single-Centre Retrospective Analysis with Regard to Diagnosis-Related Procedures

“…This trend has been partially affirmed in other countries as well [11]. Due to the increased number of surgical interventions and their progressive complexity, particularly in higher-developed countries [1,4,12,13,14,15,16], the demand for blood products has increased globally, as noted by a demographic analysis [17]. Additionally, older patients require more blood transfusions [14,18,19] as a result of progress in medical sciences and therapeutic options [17].…”

“…Due to the increased number of surgical interventions and their progressive complexity, particularly in higher-developed countries [1,4,12,13,14,15,16], the demand for blood products has increased globally, as noted by a demographic analysis [17]. Additionally, older patients require more blood transfusions [14,18,19] as a result of progress in medical sciences and therapeutic options [17]. Additionally, the demographic ageing of the population in higher developed countries may even reduce the number of younger individuals without illness who have preferentially been recruited as voluntary blood donors [4,12,14,15,20,21].…”

“…Additionally, older patients require more blood transfusions [14,18,19] as a result of progress in medical sciences and therapeutic options [17]. Additionally, the demographic ageing of the population in higher developed countries may even reduce the number of younger individuals without illness who have preferentially been recruited as voluntary blood donors [4,12,14,15,20,21]. …”