NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT)
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PRESS RELEASE
Embargoed until 00.01, Tuesday 14th June 2011
WM/439/11
BLACK AFRICAN & CARIBBEAN ARE UNDER REPRESENTED WHEN IT COMES TO
DONATING BLOOD IN THE WEST MIDLANDS
Call for community to make a ‘date to donate’ during National Blood Week
Data by NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) today reveals that only 2.7 percent of blood donated in the West Midlands comes from the black African and Caribbean community. During National Blood Week (13th – 19th June), NHSBT is urging the community to step forward and ‘make a date to donate’ blood in the coming weeks.
With specific blood groups, like U negative, only found amongst people of African and Caribbean descent, it is crucial that people from this ethnic group donate blood. Also conditions like Sickle Cell Anaemia that require regular blood transfusions are more prevalent amongst this community.
Campaigns specifically targeting black African and Caribbean people have had some success in encouraging these communities to donate blood regularly and while there has been an increase, there is still a long way to go to making sure demand for blood from this community is met with enough donors.
Local celebrity Alison Hammond is supporting the campaign. She says:
“It’s only thanks to the kindness of blood and organ donors that my niece Jasmine is here with us today. Please give the gift of life during National Blood Week by making a ‘date to donate.”
Every year thousands of lives are saved or improved thanks to selfless blood donors. It is vital that new people register to become blood donors; the NHS needs 7,000 units of blood every day to be used for a wide range of reasons: not just for rare blood disorders, but also for surgery, to treat cancer patients and for use in difficult childbirths.
Every day around 66 people from black African and Caribbean backgrounds give blood, but more donations are needed.
Football TV pundit, Ian Wright, is supporting the campaign and urging more black African and Caribbean people to donate. He says:
“Blood is needed every three seconds to save or improve lives yet only one percent of blood donors in the UK are from the Black community. Conditions like Sickle cell Anaemia, which require regular blood transfusions, are also more common among Black people, so I urge the community to do something amazing today by joining the blood donor register.”
Also this week, it is World Sickle Cell Day on the 19th June. The percentage of black people with Sickle Cell is one in a 100, with one in 10 carrying the sickle cell trait. Blood donations are important to those who suffer from Sickle Cell as they require regular blood transfusions.
Zeeshan Asghar, Partnership Developments Manager at NHSBT comments:
“During National Blood Week, we’re calling on 10,000 new donors to make a date to donate in the weeks and months ahead. It’s one of the simplest ways you can save or improve a life. Specific blood groups like U negative are only found among black African and Caribbean, so it’s important that more people step forward to help support their community.
“Just one unit of blood can save the lives of three adults or seven babies, and you can start donating from the age of 17.”
For more information about blood donation or to make an appointment visit www.blood.co.uk, call 0300 123 2323 or follow NHSBT at http://www.facebook.com/NHSBlood or www.twitter.com/NHSGiveBlood.
ENDS
Notes to editors
• The first National Blood Week in England and North Wales runs from 13th – 19th June 2011. The Week coincides with World Blood Donor Day, a WHO designated day celebrated on 14th June every year to raise awareness of the vital need for safe blood donation worldwide.
• NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is a Special Health Authority in the NHS. It is the organ donor organisation for the UK and is responsible for matching and allocating donated organs. Its remit also includes the provision of a reliable, efficient supply of blood and associated services to the NHS.
• Over four percent of the eligible population is active blood donors.
• The NHS needs 7,000 voluntary donations of blood daily.
• A unit of blood is measured as 470mls (or just under a pint).
• Blood donors can give every 16 weeks, that’s three times per year
• First time donors should be aged between 17-65, weighing at least 50 kg (7 stone 12lbs) and in general good health. If they have donated before, they can start again up to their 70th birthday and there is no upper age limit for donors who have donated in the last two years.
Issued on behalf of COI News and PR West Midlands
For further information or images please contact Hannah Brookes or Kara Bradley on 0121 222 2635/2641 or email Hannah.brookes@coi.gsi.gov.uk / kara.bradley@coi.gsi.gov.uk
