A bill pending in the Legislature would allow 16-year-olds to donate blood — with parental permission.
Supporters said the bill would boost the region's blood supply and boost young people's sense of contributing to the greater good.
The bill passed the House and is headed for the Senate. It needs Senate approval and the governor's signature to become law.
If it passes, New Hampshire would join a majority of states, about 30, which allow 16-year-olds to donate blood. The cutoff age is now 17. Supporters said lowering the age of consent would boost blood supplies significantly.
"That could improve donations by as much as 10 percent," said John Peterson, manager of donor recruitment for American Red Cross Blood Services in New Hampshire.
Young people would still need to meet the overall requirements for blood donation, including a minimum weight of 110 pounds, he said. There also are pre-donation restrictions related to foreign travel, diet and liquid intake.
A spokesman for Pinkerton Academy, which serves students from Chester, Derry and Hampstead, said the academy supports the age reduction as long as younger students understand what they are doing. To this end, the school plans to increase awareness about health and other requirements for donating blood.
Pinkerton students typically help organize blood drives at the school, publicizing them in advance with posters and T-shirts, then helping with clerical and refreshment duties on the day of the event, school spokesman Robin Perrin said.
And at every drive, he said, some of the younger students say they wish they could donate.
"There is always a group of 16-year-olds who feel discriminated against," Perrin said.
Peterson said young people who get involved in community service early tend to continue that practice as they age.
That is one benefit not to overlook, said Donna M. Morrissey, a spokeswoman for the American Red Cross Blood Services Northeast Division.
Clearly, the addition of young donors has boosted the blood supply elsewhere, she said.
Massachusetts changed its donor age cutoff to 16 in January.
Between Jan. 7, and March 15, 675 16-years-old donated blood in Massachusetts. That is a 17 percent increase in the total amount collected from high schools in the state, she said.
The typical donation is about a pint of blood.
Morrissey said high-school students account for about 15 percent of overall blood donations.
Ed Brouder, chairman of the Northern New England Blood Services Region of the American Red Cross, said the head of disease control for New Hampshire supports the age reduction.
The last age change in New Hampshire was in 1975, when it was rolled back to 17 from 18 years old, Brouder said.
More recently, between July 1, 2007, and June 30, 2008, the American Red Cross held 74 blood drives at high schools in New Hampshire, he said.
Statewide, 4,615 pints were collected, or about 14 percent of the total amount of blood collected in the state, he said.
Salem High School, for instance, donated 62 pints; Pelham High School, 45 pints; and Pinkerton Academy, 134 pints.
Blood drives are planned in May at several Southern New Hampshire public high schools.
Even if it's approved, the age change would not likely be in effect at that time.
Still, bill sponsor Rep. Barbara Shaw, D-Manchester, said she expects the law to be approved and 16-year-olds to eventually donate in New Hampshire. And that will be a good thing, she said.
"This will encourage them to show citizenship and be involved in benefiting the community," Shaw said.
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