A person in the process of donating blood
Posted on by Giulia Serrelli

The NHS in England urged donors to donate blood to address the Christmas-period slump.

The NHS in England launched its winter campaign, calling on citizens to donate blood in the six weeks before Christmas.

The call stems from the noticeable drop in donations last December.

December 2020 saw the lowest monthly amount of blood collected since 2020, 10 per cent below the monthly average, based on NHS Blood and Transplant figures.

Referring to the slump, Chief Executive at NHS Blood and Transplant, Dr Jo Farrar called on “people to give the best gift this winter – please give blood.”

Blood is constantly needed to help the NHS treat patients with cancer, blood disorders and those suffering medical trauma or undergoing surgery. 

One blood donation can save up to three lives, and the Christmas period is a particularly busy time for hospitals. 

During the same period last year, hospitals issued more units of blood than had been collected, with the demand for the universal blood type – O negative – exceeding collections by 300 units.

The NHS’ campaign specifically called for O negative and B negative blood types, as well as the Ro subtype. 

The campaign also stressed the need for more Millennial and Gen Z donors.

Older people now make up 51 per cent of regular donors and the proportion of youngest donors has shrunk, as shown in figures released earlier in the year by the NHS.

Around 200,000 extra new donors are needed each year to replace those who may have medical conditions or are too old to continue donating.

There was also a call for donors from the black community as they can better help patients with sickle cell which is more prevalent in people of black heritage.

Although there have been growing numbers of blood donors of black heritage, National Partnerships Manager for NHS Blood and Transplant, Geraldine Parker-Smith noted that there are: “a growing number of patients with sickle cell, in need of blood transfusions”.

Parker-Smith added that having better-matched blood is critical as “it reduces the risk of transfusion reactions which can cause serious complications”.

With more than 99,000 appointments to fill across England from now until the end of Christmas week, the country remains on amber alert.  

The NHS urges donors to book an appointment and stick to them, noting that donor centres have the best availability, especially during weekday daytime hours.