Missing Type NHS Blood Drive campaign

[Martin-O2]

Hey guys, 

For the second year running an NHS blood and transplant campaign is attempting to tackle a shortage of blood donations by raising awareness of the issue. A number of organisations and businesses across the globe are supporting the the campaign by dropping the A, O and B from their company names. 

The amount of blood being donated has dropped globally between 2005 and 2015 by a 20%, and in the UK, new volunteers have dropped by 40% in the last 10 years. Donated blood is vitally important for hospitals to be able to undertake lifesaving work. “In England alone we need almost 200,000 new donors, especially from blood groups like O negative and A negative, younger and black and South Asian donors,” says NHS Blood and Transplant. 

You can find out how to give blood or get further information by visiting the NHS Blood and Transplant website. 

[Cleoriff]

The drop in donors is very worrying...particularly with RH Negative blood types.

85% of the UK public has a Rh positive blood group. However....blood type O Rh negative can be given to anyone in an emergency ...before you know their actual blood type. It is often life saving.

I hope more people sign up to give blood as a result of this campaign

[Martin-O2]

@Cleoriff Yes I hadn't realised there had been such a dramatic drop in donors. Giving blood is something I've never done but I'm going to this year. Out of interest do you know if they tell you your blood type when you give blood? 

[jonsie]

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@Martin-O2 wrote:

@Cleoriff Yes I hadn't realised there had been such a dramatic drop in donors. Giving blood is something I've never done but I'm going to this year. Out of interest do you know if they tell you your blood type when you give blood? 

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Yes they do but they do test your blood first for any medical problems you may have and there is a questionnaire you need to fill in.

[Martin-O2]

Good to know, thanks for the info @jonsie! 

I'll give you guys an update once I've gone through the process 

[Cleoriff]

As @jonsie says...you are tested first. A very very rigid test now...after it was found people with the HIV virus were donating blood...

[Cleoriff]

To add to the above...when information about HIV was released to the public and one mode of transmission was via blood transfusion....The NHS destroyed most of its blood bank supplies until they were able to prove it was HIV free

[Martin-O2]

It's unfortunate they had to destroy all those blood stocks but I suppose they had to be thorough to avoid accidentally exposing anyone. This campaign is getting global exposure so hopefully will inspire more people to donate. 

[Cleoriff]

The research for new blood borne viruses is ongoing. I fully expect people will be tested now to check they aren't carrying Zika before they can become donors