Black blood donors sought as numbers fall

THE NHS has urged black people to give blood, with almost 16,000 fewer donors signing up regularly since the pandemic.

A million more blood donors are needed over the next five years, particularly those with the rarest blood types, NHS Blood and Transplant has said.

It said there was an urgent need for black African, black Caribbean and younger donors.

The number of active donors – those donating in the past 12 months – fell from nearly 808,000 in March 2020 to just over 750,000 in February 2021, although numbers have since risen.

The five-year Blood Service Strategy, published today by NHS Blood and Transplant to mark the start of National Blood Week, aims to double the number of donors with the rarest blood types.

A campaign to identify those with the most-needed blood groups is being supported by Scarlette Douglas of Channel 4’s A Place In The Sun, Shayna Marie, the Capital Xtra DJ, and Joel Dommett, the comedian.

While many people are aware of the main blood types – such as O positive, which makes up 35 per cent of the population, and O negative (13 per cent) – the service said the public was less familiar with the many sub-types that can provide a better match for patients and improve their treatment.

It said it needed donors of black African and black Caribbean ethnicity to help treat people with sickle cell disease, the fastest growing genetic blood disorder in the UK, mainly affecting people of black heritage.

Sickle cell requires regular transfusions, most often with Ro blood. Some 55 per cent of black blood donors have this sub-type, compared with 2.4 per cent of donors from other ethnicities.

In the next year, the strategy aims to recruit 175,000 new donors. London, which has a high ethnic diversity, is the biggest target.

Stephen Cornes, director of blood supply at NHS Blood and Transplant, said it could only meet half the demand for Ro blood, meaning that many sickle cell patients received less well-matched blood.

While this was clinically suitable, it could pose longer-term health risks to patients receiving regular donations, he said.