National Blood Week: More than 7,000 new blood donors needed in Hampshire to meet demand, according to NHS
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Nationally, one million more blood donors are needed over the next five years to ensure patients receive the right type of blood to save and improve their lives, with a particular need for Black African, Black Caribbean, and younger donors.
The five-year Blood Service Strategy, published on June 13 at the start of National Blood Week, sets ambitious plans to recruit up to a million new donors and double the number of regular donors with the rarest blood types.
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Hide AdThis will ensure better-matched blood types for patients in the future and reduce health inequalities.
There is a particular urgency for more donors of Black African and Black Caribbean ethnicity to treat people with sickle cell, which is the fastest growing genetic blood disorder in the UK and mostly affects people of Black heritage.
Stephen Cornes, director of blood supply at NHS Blood and Transplant said: ‘We urgently need new Black African and Black Caribbean donors to come forward and donate blood.
‘In addition to the rarest blood types, we also need 1 million new donors over the next five years of all blood types.
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Hide Ad‘As the NHS treats more patients, we need to grow the total number of donors too.’
To become a donor, register today and book an appointment by visiting blood.co.uk, downloading the GiveBloodNHS app, or by calling 0300 123 23 23.