Young Blood
Your blood can have a big impact
Every day in Wales, lives are saved thanks to donors, from accident victims to cancer patients, blood and stem cell donations are vital.
We need the next generation to come forward and make a difference.
Only three per cent of the eligible population donates blood, and fewer than 15 per cent of those are aged under 30. Let’s change that together.
Can your school or college help inspire the next generation of lifesavers?
1. Host a stem cell swab drive
Swab drives are the easiest and quickest way to get involved. They are designed to recruit volunteers aged 16-30, or 16-45 from Black, Asian or minority ethnic groups, to our stem cell registry to help cancer patients in need of a bone marrow transplant. They require less space and equipment than a blood donation session, making them suitable for schools and colleges of all shapes and sizes.
So far, more than 800 young people have joined the stem cell registry through school swab drives.
If you’re interested in hosting a swab drive, get in touch.
2. Host a blood donation session
For large schools and colleges with at least 200 ‘post 16’ students, the most effective way of engaging a new generation of blood donors is to host a blood donation session in the building during the day. We already work with several schools and colleges across the country, resulting in nearly 5,000 donations.
To find out more about the process, click here.
3. Spread the message
There are so many ways to make a lifesaving difference to patients in need across Wales. You can help us spread the word by shouting about the importance of donating.
Here are some simple ways you can spread the message, and promote local community sessions in your area:
- Display posters
- Issue notices via parents’ newsletters
- Post on your staff intranet
To make this as easy as possible, download the below resources:
Some of the schools already supporting us
Ysgol Stanwell School
Ysgol Stanwell School in South Wales has been supporting the Welsh Blood Service since 2015. In that time, its Sixth Form students and staff members have collectively saved up to 3,000 lives!
More than 120 students have also joined the stem cell registry, improving the chances of finding a lifesaving match for the thousands of cancer patients needing a bone marrow transplant.
Sue Adams, Sixth Form Coordinator at Ysgol Stanwell School, said: “The blood donation sessions we host at Stanwell are always a highlight in the school calendar, both for students and staff.
“It is vitally important to us as a school that we encourage young people to become blood donors and save lives, to make a difference to our community and patients in need.”
Prestatyn High School
Prestatyn High School in North Wales hosted its first blood donation session in October 2024 and is already looking forward to the next one.
Kirsty Garside, Head of Social Studies, at Prestatyn High School, said: “We’ve wanted to support an initiative that encourages ‘giving’ for quite some time, and supporting the Welsh Blood Service by hosting our first donation session felt like the perfect way to do that.
“It was heartwarming to see so many of our students step forward to donate blood for the first time and join the stem cell registry, as well as the pride they felt afterwards. We’re delighted to support the Gwaed Ifanc campaign and encourage every secondary school and further education setting in Wales to get behind it.”
Tonyrefail Community School
The journey to hosting a blood donation session at Tonyrefail Community School has been more than 25 years in the making for the driving force behind it, Shula Gunter, a Maths teacher at the school for over three decades.
In 1999, Shula, her husband, and three others were involved in a horrific car accident. Tragically, Shula was the only survivor, needing a staggering 28 units of blood to save her life.
Shula was a blood donor herself before the crash but is no longer able to donate following the transfusions. Instead, she channelled her efforts into helping and encouraging young people to donate blood, first with the Young Farmers’ Club and now at Tonyrefail Community School.
Read Shula’s story here.
Hear from students...
Welsh Baccalaureate
Calling all teachers and students!
Help others find out why it’s so important to donate through our new Welsh Baccalaureate challenge, encouraging more donors aged 17-34 to come forward.
Shula Gunter’s 25 year journey
10 June 2025
Urgent call for stem cell volunteers to help teenager with leukaemia
24 January 2025
Cancer survivor surprises stem cell donor who saved her life
18 September 2024
Global search for lifesaving bone marrow donor finds a near-perfect match just 15 miles from patient’s home.
14 September 2023