Overview

• To mark the anniversary, NHS Blood and Transplant released two‑decade totals including 33,727,426 blood donations, 83,941 solid organ transplants and 18,416,561 opt‑ins to the Organ Donor Register.
• The agency is urging more O negative and B‑ donors and people of Black heritage to give blood, while calling for more young men to join the stem cell register.
• More than 8,000 people are currently waiting for organ transplants, reinforcing the call for new donors and registrations.
• Coventry donor Peter Randle, 69, has given blood 138 times; NHSBT records show 88 donations since 2005, the most in its 20‑year history, aided by treatment for haemochromatosis that allows more frequent donation.
• Kidney recipient Simon Elmore described donation as life‑changing and thanked his donor’s family, as NHSBT also noted research advances including 53 new blood group antigens and 104 new alleles.