Overview

• NHS Blood and Transplant says 200,000 additional donors are needed in England to avoid triggering a red alert and pausing non-emergency transfusions
• The service currently holds two to three days of blood, half its six-day safety stock, since an amber alert was declared after July 2024’s cyber-attack on London hospitals
• Only 24% of those who registered as donors in the past year have given blood, leaving around 55,000 appointments unfilled over the next six weeks
• Officials highlight a critical shortage of O-negative donations and call for more donors from Black heritage communities to treat emergencies and sickle cell patients
• To boost turnout, NHSBT is rolling out new donor centres and expanding appointment availability in local communities