Almost every week, I pick up an eight-hour shift at Harrisonburg’s American Red Cross blood donation center, checking folks in and cleaning equipment. I’ve seen many people come give blood, diverse in every way but their age. We Gen Z-ers tend to paint ourselves as the empathetic generation, but the demographics of Harrisonburg blood donors tell a different story, one which has dire implications for the future of healthcare.

I have had the privilege of living in the Shenandoah Valley all of my life, and know many people from the area as a result, particularly college-aged people. In nearly 100 hours of volunteering with the Red Cross, I have seen precisely zero JMU or EMU students come in to give blood. 

Unfortunately, the lack of college-aged blood donors didn’t come as a surprise. Our generation as a whole is known to be the most self-centered of any to ever be studied in the history of psychology. Not only are we the most narcissistic generation, but according to a recent study by psychologists Joshua Grubbs and Julie Exline, we are highly aware of it. It doesn’t take a clinical study to figure this out—just look at the people we idolize in popular culture, like Logan Paul, Bhad Babie, Andrew Tate, and Kylie Jenner. The term “influencer” is far more fitting than we know.

I feel that a cultural shift is the root cause of the blood shortage because the few young people that have come in to give blood over the past few months have been Old Order Mennonites. While traditional Mennonites have avoided much of the psychosocial harm associated with the digital world, those immersed in a more progressive Mennonite culture may be more affected by toxic celebrity culture than they realize. Perhaps our pervasive use of social media has led us to assimilate into a dominant consumerist-narcissist culture, resulting in the erosion of altruism as a virtue.

While a person’s degree of selflessness often determines whether or not they decide to donate blood, it isn’t the only factor. It’s worth noting that there is a strong familial trend to blood donation. The Red Cross has found that parents who set an example of giving blood often influence their children to do the same. Because of this, we certainly cannot expect the next generation to pick up our slack, and need to think hard about the example that we are setting for today’s children.

Every two seconds, someone needs blood to live. According to the Red Cross, around half of all blood donations today are given by people over 50, and that percentage is increasing every year. When our parents and grandparents are gone, will Gen Z suddenly feel like stepping up, or will people have to suffer from our lack of compassion? The answer is fast approaching, but we still have time to change it.

If you are interested in making a difference in our community by donating blood, please go to www.redcross.org to schedule an appointment today.