Stocks have improved since reaching “unprecedented” low levels in July but demand is now expected to rise again

The NHS is renewing its appeal to London blood donors to book and keep appointments to donate over coming weeks and months as it remains under ‘amber alert’.

One month after stocks of blood dropped to critically low levels, levels have improved thanks to the “amazing response” from donors and hospitals temporarily using less blood.

But NHS Blood and Transplant is warning that once demand returns to normal levels, blood stocks could decline once again unless donors fill the thousands of empty slots currently still available at the 25 fixed donor centres in towns and cities across England.

While donor centres have been more than 90% full since amber alert was declared, fill rates drop off sharply over the coming weeks. Centres are just 40% full in the middle of September and this drops to 21% by the end of October.

London’s six donor centres have around 37,000 appointments still available to book between now and the end of October. The NHS urgently needs donors to fill these to ensure stock levels are sustainable.

Today, stocks of O-negative are at 7.8 days and overall stocks across all types are at 8.6 days. This compares with 1.6 days for O-negative and 4.3 for all types when the amber alert was triggered. However, with a shelf life of just 35 days, these blood stocks must be constantly replenished.

Due to the amber alert, hospital demand has gone down by 5% for O-type blood and 3% for all blood types. Meanwhile, an extra 1,000 appointments a week have been added to boost collection.

London has five fixed donor centres in the West End, Tooting, Edgware, Shepherd’s Bush and Stratford. Currently, whole blood donors are also able to donate at the plasma donor centre in Twickenham.

NHS Blood and Transplant’s deputy chief executive officer, Wendy Clark, said: “We are enormously grateful to our amazing donors who have answered our call and filled up our sessions, and to all the hospitals that have supported us by reducing stock holding and orders.

“The recent increase in stock levels is encouraging but we need to be able to cope with hospitals going back to normal ordering once we come out of amber. The amber alert can only be removed once we are confident that stocks have reached a strong and sustainable level.

“To achieve this we need donors to keep up the momentum. If you haven’t stepped forward yet, we need you to do so now or in the weeks ahead. Our London donor centres have thousands of unfilled appointments as we move into autumn.

“Our mobile sessions held in community venues are almost full so if you can’t find a local appointment immediately that means other donors have already come forward. Please book in to the next available session. Blood is needed 24/7, 365 days a year.

“Thank you to everyone for their incredible support to ensure seriously ill patients continue to receive the lifesaving blood they need at this time.”

An amber alert is an important part of the NHS’s business continuity plan for blood stocks. It requires hospitals to restrict the use of O-type blood to essential cases and use substitutions where it is clinically safe to do so.

NHS Blood and Transplant triggered the amber alert for O-negative and O-positive type blood following a ‘perfect storm’ of increased hospital demand for O-blood following the cyber attack on London hospitals in June, and reduced collections due to high levels of unfilled appointments at donor centres. This caused stocks to drop to unprecedently low levels.

O-negative is universal and can be given to anyone. It is used in emergencies or when a patient’s blood type is unknown. O-positive is the most common blood type – 35% of donors have it – and can be given to anybody with a positive blood type. It can also be given to all men and women past childbearing age.

There is a particular need for more young donors to come forward, especially those with O-negative blood type as well as more donors of black heritage, to treat patients with sickle cell.

To register to donate and to book an appointment:
Call 0300 123 23 23
Visit blood.co.uk

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