Though plasma donation has practically become a business exchange stateside, the concept of blood for money doesn’t sit well with many in the U.K. However, with young people increasingly opting out of blood donation and demand ballooning—especially as the U.K. preps for the Olympics and its 1.2 million expected tourists—Europeans are searching for ways to encourage blood and plasma donation; one thought: compensating donors with a paid half-day off work. (When blood and plasma donation is remunerated, the resulting supply isn’t as safe as when it’s donated voluntarily.)

There’s a shortage of blood in China, too, where Health Minister Chen Zhu donated plasma earlier this month in hopes that his fellow countrymen will follow suit. Only 87 of every 10,000 people on the Chinese mainland donate blood, compared with an average of 454 out of every 10,000 people in other developed countries.

How to motivate people to donate—outside of cold, hard cash? How about social media? Facebook recently called on its members to note their organ donation status on their Timelines. Imagine if organ donation were the next big thing on Facebook. And what other good works might the ginormous social media network embrace? Could social media get the sluggish blood-donation movement to start flowing again? Sounds like a healthcare marketing win just waiting to happen.

Image credit: Creative Commons/sankarshan@flickr.com