Organisations call for blood donors after 30% fall in volunteers worldwide
NHS Blood and Transplant is uniting with donor organisations and launching a campaign to urge more people to become donors.
Blood donations across the world have dropped almost 30% over the last decade, a new survey has revealed.
The number of people becoming donors and giving blood for the first time in England decreased by 24.4% in 2015 compared to 2005.
In a bid to combat the fall, NHS Blood and Transplant is uniting with blood donor organisations across 21 countries to reverse the decline in new donors.
Missing Type, which was first held in England and North Wales in 2015, 25 blood services from 21 countries in a global campaign to call for new blood donors to ensure blood donation for future generations.
Throughout the campaign As, Bs and Os, the letters of the main blood groups, will disappear in everyday and iconic locations around the globe. And patients from around the world have thanked blood donors in a moving video to highlight that in a world without As, Bs and Os, they would not be here.
Across the Missing Type countries, which cover one billion of the world’s population, there are some differences in the numbers of donors and blood groups most in demand but all share the need for more new donors.
In England, the focus is on a particular need for more young blood donors and more black and Asian donors.
Around 3.5% of the population in England is black African or black Caribbean, but last year less than 1 in 100 (0.64%) donors were from black communities.
Mike Stredder, Director of Blood Donation at NHS Blood and Transplant, the service that collects, tests and processes blood for hospitals across England, said: “Blood donation is an amazing gift. Transfusions save lives and transform health for millions across the world. Every donation can help or save up to three patients and last year in England alone 900,000 people gave blood - helping up to 2.7 million patients. Whether it is patients receiving treatment for cancer, blood disorders, after accidents or during surgery, or new mums who lost blood in childbirth, blood is an absolutely essential part of modern healthcare.
“Thanks to the generosity of our current donors, hospitals have the blood needed to treat patients and there is not a crisis in blood stocks. Despite overall blood use in hospitals declining, we need more young donors to safeguard blood donation for future generations. And it’s vital the blood donor community reflects the diversity of the population because blood types vary across communities and patients need well-matched blood.
“Don’t worry if you’ve never given blood before and don’t know what blood group you are – you find out shortly after your first donation. What’s important is that you register as a donor and book your first appointment to donate. We particularly need new A negative and O negative donors, and people willing to become dedicated platelet donors.”
A number of high profile brands and organisations are backing the campaign, with Microsoft, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, Boots and Manchester City amongst organisations featuring in a new TV advert that will also be seen across social media. Other major supporters include Lloyds Bank, and Royal Mail, who is issuing a special postmark to support the campaign. The postmark will be applied to millions of items of stamped mail from Tuesday 16 August to Friday 19 August.
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