Christmas is a time for giving... blood

THE NHS urgently needs more people with specific blood types to come forward as hospitals work to reduce the backlog of planned surgery as well as preparing for the busy winter period.

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Figures reveal hospitals across England are currently ordering almost 400 units of blood a week more than usual as they work to reduce elective surgery waiting lists in the lead up to Christmas.

This, plus ongoing commitment to high numbers of routine blood transfusions and exchanges for conditions including sickle cell and cancer, is creating high demand for critical types including O negative (the universal blood type), B negative and the Ro subtype, which is predominantly found in people of black African and black Caribbean heritage.