New campaign 'People Like You' launches on World Blood Donor Day

The Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service (SNBTS) is marking World Blood Donor Day today by launching a new advertising campaign featuring blood donors from across Scotland.

The campaign, which was filmed in Glasgow in April 2022, aims to help build the donor base as the numbers of blood donors reached record low levels during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Debbie McNaughton, SNBTS Associate Director, Donor Services and Transport says, 'We are pleased to launch our new advertising campaign, and I would like to extend my thanks to all the donors who have featured in it. The campaign is required to help us recruit new blood donors. We currently have 96,295 blood donors and we need to build this to 105,000 active blood donors. Allowing for people who stop giving blood for various reasons, this means we are asking 16,000 new or returning donors to come forward in the next 12 months. Simultaneously, we are currently seeing a 7% increase in the demand for blood from hospitals. This is because NHS Scotland is busy post pandemic with high levels of activity. This is welcome news so we are asking people in Scotland to register as blood donors now, to allow this good work to continue.

World Blood Donor Day 2022

Debbie continues, 'The global theme for World Blood Donor Day this year is 'Giving blood is an act of solidarity.' This is fitting, as our research shows there remains a great desire to help the NHS and the wider community as we emerge from the pandemic. These motivations can be summarised as altruism (helping others) and communitarianism (being part of the collective effort to help the community). Specifically, blood donation is seen as a way to help people in need and give back to the community. These principles have formed the basis of our campaign, which we are calling 'People Like You.' Our message to the people of Scotland is very simple. We need people like you to come forward and register as a blood donor.

People like you

Virginia, 17, from Springburn Academy in Glasgow, is a blood donor who featured in the campaign. Virginia says, 'I personally believe that everyone who can donate blood should do so. It is such a rewarding feeling, knowing you have made an impact in someone’s life.

'At first, I was a bit worried, but once you’re there the staff are amazing and the process is pain free. I will definitely go back and donate more blood once my three months are over.'

'I am so grateful for the opportunity of being involved in the TV ad. I really had lots of fun and it is for such a good cause. I can't thank you enough. I'm looking forward to my next donation already.'

Research

Debbie continues, 'Our research also shows donors feel pride, a sense of achievement and feelings of personal fulfilment after giving blood. We hope these sentiments are represented in our campaign and in the experience, we offer to donors. For customer satisfaction, we consistently receive a score of over 90% for the overall donation experience.

'This means if you have never given blood before, or have not given blood for a while, our message is simple. We need people like you to come forward and give blood. It’s never been easier to register as a blood donor. You can book your appointment online and 84% of active donors now have an online account. Open yours at scotblood.co.uk, and help us keep NHS Scotland running.'

• Book an appointment to give blood