Along with changing your bed sheets more often, putting money into savings and getting the occasional early night, giving blood is something we all know we should be doing as part of our quest to being a fully-fledged, respectable adult.
But new numbers released by the NHS Give Blood campaign reveal that hardly any young people are actually giving up any of the red stuff.
According to the NHS Give Blood website, most people between the ages of 17-65 are able to give blood - a pretty huge portion of the population, right?
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Well, yes, but at the moment around half of the current donors are over 45, while a staggering 81 percent of 18-24-year-olds have never given blood, according to the recent stats.
So why aren't young people giving blood? Is it laziness? Fear? According to the research, it's a combination of several things - but there's one that stands out above all others.
"The biggest barrier for young people donating blood is the fear that it will be painful," NHS Blood and Transplant spokesperson Tom Aggett told LADbible.
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"We recently surveyed this audience and found that this is the case for more than a quarter of 18-24-year-olds, who have never given blood. The fear of the pain is actually more of a barrier to this age group than any other age group."
In fact, the research found that a whopping 35 percent of 18-24 year olds are scared to give blood - while only 28 percent of them said they had a fear of heights, and 19 percent of going to the dentist.
Aggett says the second biggest reason is the perception that giving blood takes up a lot of time - even though young people say they know it's a good thing to do.
"There's also an element of people not knowing if they can donate - and this in most cases is down to a number of myths," he said.
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"Many people believe they can't donate if they have a tattoo or body piercing, drink alcohol or smoke. That is simply not true.
"You can donate four months from the date of a tattoo or body piercing, and there are no restrictions on smokers," Aggett told us.
"With alcohol, we cannot accept donations if a donor appears to be drunk when entering the donor centre."
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And when it comes to people's perception that blood donation is both painful and takes up a lot of time, Aggett said that it's never as bad as many think.
"Those that have donated have said that the pain is no more than a small scratch," he said.
"In fact, 86 percent of donors have said that the process of giving blood was much easier than originally expected.
"Equally in response to those that are worried about the time taken - giving blood only takes five to ten minutes and the whole appointment only takes one hour."
Currently, men who have had oral or anal sex with another man - with or without protection - in the last three months cannot give blood. The NHS says this is because they have a 'higher risk of acquiring blood-borne diseases, infections and viruses'.
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Men who had sex with other men used to be excluded entirely from blood donation, but this rule was lifted and reduced to a 12-month deferral period - then three months - following a backlash from campaigners, including the group Freedom to Donate.
Aggett added there is a huge need for new donors to ensure there are sufficient stocks of the 'right blood types at the right times'.
"It is important that people of all ages donate, but with an ageing donor population, young donors are needed more than ever, to replace those who can no longer donate," he said.
"Each blood donation can save or improve the lives of up to three seriously ill people with over 6,000 blood donations required daily to keep the nation pumping."
You can find out if you're able to give blood via the NHS Blood Donation website. Register to become a blood donor here.
Featured Image Credit: PA
Topics: UK News, News, UK, Health