Why I’m urging fellow O negative donors in the North West to step forward

More than 5,000 people in the region with the vital O negative blood type have not donated in over a year, according to NHSBT.

The service is appealing for these ‘missing donors’ to come forward now to help rebuild dangerously depleted stocks.

A combination of four bank holidays, the Easter break and half-term holidays within just six weeks has disrupted usual donation patterns.

As a result, England remains on an amber alert for low stocks of O type blood - triggering hospital emergency measures to ration and conserve what’s available.

Director of Blood Supply at NHS Blood and Transplant, Gerry Gogarty said: “Our ‘missing’ O negative donors in the North West have the power to relieve the pressure on supplies of this vital blood type.

“If you are O negative and haven’t given blood in a while please book an appointment to donate today. Don’t hesitate as patients need you now.”

O negative is the universal blood type which means it can be safely transfused to anyone in an emergency when there’s no time to determine a patient’s blood type.

Although only 8% of the population has O negative blood it accounts for around 16% of all blood orders from hospitals.

While many community donation sessions are currently well attended, fixed donor centres in Lancaster, Liverpool, and Manchester are seeing lower turnout, especially during weekday mornings and afternoons.

To help donors book more easily NHSBT now publishes daily appointment availability at its centres.

A single donation can save up to three lives and takes around an hour.

Men can donate every 12 weeks, while women can give every 16 weeks.

NHSBT needs more than 5,000 blood donations every day across England to meet patient demand for treatments including surgery, cancer care, childbirth, and trauma recovery.

Appointments can be booked online at www.blood.co.uk, via the GiveBlood app, or by calling 0300 123 23 23.