Hansard

We can certainly discuss doing that—I will ask Jenni Minto to raise it in her regular communication with the SNBTS. I imagine that there would be challenges in relation to the size of the collection. I regularly give blood and I assure the member that you do not miss it at all—a pint can easily go without your feeling any impact whatsoever. Maybe reassurance is what is required, rather than an adjustment in the process.

In line with lots of global blood donor services, Scotland faces an ageing donor base. As others have said, 55 per cent of Scotland’s active donor base are now aged 45 or over. Donors aged 17 to 24 are the smallest group of active donors in Scotland. The SNBTS already does excellent work with schools, colleges and universities. It also has a formal school talk programme and has delivered 84 school talks in the past year, delivering the message to almost 5,000 young people. That has directly resulted in more than 1,000 donors from secondary 5 and 6 in schools in Scotland, and those efforts have caused donor registrations from people aged 24 and under to increase by up to 30 per cent in the past 12 months.

However, we can always do more. That is why I welcome the contribution of charities such as Give Blood 4 Good. As we have heard, Give Blood 4 Good has been doing excellent work since it was set up in 2019 in memory of Patrick Smith. I offer my warmest condolences to the friends and family of Patrick, who was such a passionate advocate for blood donation and who has had such a big influence since his passing. Give Blood 4 Good works in close consultation and has really good relations with the SNBTS, which I commend.

I also pay particular tribute to Give Blood 4 Good’s young ambassador programme and the way in which it uses e-learning to help fifth and sixth-year students learn about the life-saving importance of blood donation. It is particularly important that we continue to attract young people to donate blood and, as such, I welcome the supporting work that Give Blood 4 Good is doing. The Minister for Public Health and Women’s Health will be meeting the organisation in the coming weeks to progress that further. I assure colleagues that we are keen to reach that particular target demographic and we would be very happy to work with Give Blood 4 Good to maximise its impact.

The patients who receive blood donation cannot thank the donors personally. On their behalf and on behalf of the Minister for Public Health and Women’s Health, I say thank you to all donors. This crucial service could not operate without the wonderful blood donors and I encourage anyone who is eligible to give blood to get along and do it. The debate today has made an important contribution to supporting that service.