The Altruism Dividend

Years ago, while living in Birmingham, I happened to come across a sign: “Give blood today.” 

I thought it would be a useful way to spend my lunch hour, which began with sporadic donations every few years.

Then my first son was born, and something shifted.

At the time of his birth, a client offered congratulations, telling me; “Welcome to humanity.” 

What he meant, and what I felt when leaving the hospital, was a new connection to the human race I’d never experienced before. 

It also sparked a desire in me to help others in a more deliberate way.

Around the same time, NHS Blood and Transplant informed me that my donations were particularly valuable since I am CMV-negative, meaning I am free from a common virus that most of us pick up without even realising. 

This status makes my blood vital for newborn babies with undeveloped immune systems and adults undergoing cancer treatment. 

That knowledge changed the way I felt about donating. It was no longer just a good deed—it was a responsibility. 

So the financial planner in me did what financial planners do; I set a goal to donate 100 times in my lifetime.

Last weekend, I reached a milestone; my 30th donation.

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Why does helping strangers feel so good?

On the surface, donating blood is simple: it costs you nothing more than an hour of your time and you get to eat free biscuits! 

But the real payoff comes a few days later, when you receive a message telling you which hospital your blood has gone to.

In your mind, you can’t help but play out a short film: your blood arriving at St Thomas’ or at Great Ormond Street, being used in a moment that really mattered.

This isn’t just sentimentality—it’s human psychology.

Research shows that altruistic acts towards strangers provide a unique emotional boost. 

A 2020 study from the University of British Columbia found that people who gave money to strangers reported a greater increase in happiness than those who gave the same amount to friends or family.¹ 

Other studies echo this; when we help strangers, our brains release oxytocin and dopamine, creating what some psychologists call the “warm glow of giving.”

Interestingly, the effect is stronger when there’s no expectation of anything in return. 

In evolutionary terms, this might have been a way of building trust between unfamiliar groups. In modern life, it explains why even small acts—donating £5 online to someone you’ll never meet—can leave you feeling surprisingly good.

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Finding your own way to help strangers

Blood donation is one route, but there are many others:

• Micro-donations – via platforms like GiveStar, which allow you to give small amounts to causes that catch your attention or align with your values.

• Pay-it-forward gestures – helping someone whose card has declined in Sainsbury's, or leaving a book on the shelf in a café. 

• Volunteering time or skills – charities and community groups often need your expertise, not just money.

Each one of these approaches reminds us that helping strangers isn’t just good for society—it’s good for us, too.

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Will I make it to 100?

I don’t know. Health and life have their own plans. But that’s not really the point. The point is to keep showing up, to keep doing the small thing that helps someone else.

And perhaps that’s the lesson; setting long-term goals for altruism, just as we do for our finances or our careers, creates meaning that compounds over time.

So, whether it’s blood, time, or resources, finding a way to give to strangers might be one of the most valuable investments any of us can make.

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¹ Dunn, E. W., Aknin, L. B., & Norton, M. I. (2020). Prosocial Spending and Happiness: Using Money to Benefit Others Pays Off. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 29(2), 186–193.