Employees of Kangwon Land participate in a company-organized blood donation campaign. (Kangwon Land) South Korea is moving to stabilize its blood supply by encouraging more donations from older adults, whose population is expected to grow amid the country’s demographic shift.
According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare on Thursday, the government is reviewing a plan to ease the upper age limit for blood donation, currently capped at 69. A study commissioned by the ministry in December suggested raising the limit to 75.
The country’s blood reserves, more than half of which come from people in their teens and 20s, have long fluctuated depending on school and corporate schedules, including vacation and exam seasons. However, the declining population of younger generations is increasingly raising concerns over future blood supplies.
Other countries have made similar moves to ease age restrictions for blood donors: the United States abolished the upper age limit for blood donation, and Australia set its cap at 75. The ministry plans to review related issues by the end of this year and implement the change within the next year.
Low blood stocks linked to waning youth population
The measure is part of the ministry’s five-year blood management plan through 2030, finalized a day earlier. The plan is based on expectations of rising blood demand driven by a growing elderly population, while supply from younger generations is projected to decline.
It also includes updating screening standards and replacing them with more accurate tests. Tests authorities now deem less effective have led to the disposal of thousands of blood packs.
As of Thursday, South Korea’s blood reserves held enough for 4.6 days of use based on red blood cell supplies, slightly below the recommended level of five days.
Blood stocks tend to hit seasonal lows during winter, when students travel during school vacations and respiratory illnesses become widespread. Many prescribed cough medicines block blood donations for three to seven days after the last dose.
With 54.8 percent of donations coming from people in their teens and 20s, reserves have at times dropped to the equivalent of just three days of supply, including in April during midterm exam periods, prompting authorities to expand the age range of blood donors.
As the elderly population grows, blood authorities are increasingly encouraging people in their 50s and 60s to donate, to maintain a more stable supply year-round. As a result, the number of donations from those age groups rose by 20,000 over five years to reach 366,000 in 2024.
“Blood donation relies on voluntary participation, meaning supplies are highly affected by timing and weather conditions,” a Health Ministry official said. “It is also difficult to store blood products for long periods, with concentrated red blood cells lasting 35 days and platelets only five days, leaving no choice but to encourage steady participation.”
While blood authorities have introduced incentives to attract donors, some have also argued for lowering donation barriers to match those of other countries.
Australia, for instance, replaced its blanket three-month deferral policy in June 2025 for same-sex sexual activity with an individualized screening system based on factors such as the number of sexual partners and HIV prevention measures. Authorities estimated the change could add 625,000 eligible blood and plasma donors.
In contrast, South Korea still maintains a one-year donation ban for people who have had sexual contact with unspecified partners of the opposite sex or male same-sex intercourse, as well as for those who have experienced loss of consciousness or spent more than three days in detention facilities.
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