Blood donation rooms, which were once regarded by many as vaguely unnerving and gloomy places, have taken on a new face in the cities. They are turning into "urban oases" where donors can receive foot massages, have their fortunes told, and watch video movies in spacious, air-conditioned waiting rooms - all for free - and are attracting a growing number of young people. This came about as an effort of the Japanese Red Cross Society to halt the decline in donors, particularly among young people. Blood collection, which is vital for medical treatment, relies entirely on donation in Japan. For this reason, blood donation rooms across the country are offering various unique services to draw in donors.

At Your Service
One of the largest of the 118 donation rooms across Japan is located in the bustling shopping district on the east side of Tokyo's Shinjuku Station complex. Occupying the sixth floor of a building, it has an area of about 700 square meters, nearly half of which comprises a lounge and a multipurpose space. Here, many young people can be seen eating free cookies and doughnuts, watching videos, and playing games after donating blood.

This location's most popular attraction is the fortunetellers who come two or three times a week. A twenty-something woman who was getting a tarot reading with a blue tourniquet applied on her arm was there for the fourth time. The first time, she just dropped in on a whim. "When you're told about the importance of donating blood and thanked for what you've done, it makes you really glad to have done it," she said. "And it's a pretty place, which makes me want to come here again."

Also in Tokyo is Shibu² (read "Shibu two"), a blood donation room not far from Shibuya Station. As Shibuya is popular with young people, the majority of donors here are teenagers and young office workers, largely female. On Saturdays the lounge, which has a capacity of about 50, can become full. The room has a stock of 240 videotapes and over 200 comic books, with which donors are free to entertain themselves. Two young women attending professional school who had come together commented cheerfully, "It's our first time here. We thought we'd come here basically because we can have fun for free, but it's really great that we can do something good for others at the same time."

The first blood donation room in Tokyo opened 20 years ago in the city of Tachikawa, and there are currently 14 locations across the metropolis. The earliest facilities were only about 100 square meters. But the area gradually increased, and the three most recent additions are all larger than 300 square meters. Blood donation rooms outside of Tokyo are also being improved and are coming to offer a greater variety of services. To mention but a few, the services include shiatsu, scalp checkups, donation points that can be exchanged for gifts, professional child-care, makeup classes, and mini-concerts.

Securing Young Blood
In 1964, the Japanese government decided that blood for transfusion would be obtained solely by donation, not by blood sales. By 1967, every prefecture had at least one Red Cross blood center for accepting blood donations, enabling enough blood to be secured by donation only.

In recent years, however, there has been a marked decrease in blood donors. According to the Japanese Red Cross Society, donors numbered only 5.7 million in 2001 - 3 million less than 1985, the peak year. The tendency to shy away from blood donation is especially conspicuous among those in their teens and twenties. "In the light of the government objective of realizing a self-sufficient blood supply, the drop in the number of donors is grave," notes a spokesperson for the Tokyo Red Cross Blood Center. "So we hope to enlist more donors - particularly young people, who gain a lot of their information by word of mouth."

The transformation of blood donation rooms into "oases" is a measure aimed at attracting young people. Thanks to these efforts, the society says that more donors than last year have been coming to the donation rooms in Shinjuku and Shibuya. Moreover, a growing number are returning to give more blood, one reason being that donors can gain a clear sense of being useful to others. The warmth and satisfaction of performing a charitable act is steadily spreading across repeat donors.