Fewer people are donating blood - worrying, says National Board of Health and Welfare

In order to be prepared for a social crisis, the proportion of blood donors in the population would need to increase to 5 percent, the National Board of Health and Welfare estimates.

Instead, the percentage of blood donors has declined in recent years.

"The development is going in the wrong direction and it is worrying that we do not yet see any clear turnaround," says Björn Eriksson, Director General of the National Board of Health and Welfare, in a press release.

To meet the goal, more young people need to donate blood. Young men in particular are underrepresented - only 1.4 percent of men aged 18–24 donate blood.

New statistics from the authority and the coordinating organization, Swedish Blood Alliance, also show large regional differences. In Västerbotten, 4.1 percent of all 18–64-year-olds donate blood; in Stockholm, 2.2 percent do.