THE NHS NEEDS ONE MILLION BLOOD DONORS TO SAVE LIVES
Help Fight Sickle Cell – Donate Blood, Give Life
Right now in the UK, thousands of people are living with sickle cell disorder, the fastest-growing genetic condition in the country. It mainly affects people of Black African and Caribbean heritage, and for many, life means constant hospital visits, chronic pain, and regular blood transfusions—often every few weeks. These transfusions are vital, easing pain crises and preventing life-threatening complications like stroke and organ damage.
But there’s a problem: not enough donors, specially from communities where the best matches for sickle cell patients are most likely to be found. Right now, there is a critical need for O negative donors – the universal blood type needed for emergencies – and for more donors of Black heritage, who are significantly more likely to have the specific blood type needed to treat sickle cell disease. Without the right blood type, patients face more side effects and fewer treatment options.
Each blood donation can help save or transform a life. Red blood cell disorders like sickle cell can’t be cured with one treatment, but a regular supply of matched blood can mean fewer hospital stays, less pain, and more time living fully. Blood donation is safe, quick, and needed year-round—especially as demand for Ro subtype blood has doubled in recent years.
Last year just under 800,000 people donated. Thank you to those amazing donors. If one million people gave blood regularly – the national blood stocks would be a lot more healthy and we could take the pressure off current donors.
This National Blood Week, the NHS is calling on one million people in England to become regular blood donors to stabilise the nation’s blood supply. If you’re aged 17 to 65, healthy, and weigh over 50kg, you could be the perfect match. Whether you give once or become a regular donor, you’ll be part of something life-changing. It’s just an hour of your time—but for someone living with sickle cell or a red blood cell disorder, it could mean the world.
Step up. Donate blood. And help someone with sickle cell breathe easier tomorrow.
Please come and give blood in one of the NHS’s 27 town and city centre donor centres, find out if you have one of the high-demand blood types and help
save lives.
You can register now and book an appointment online, on the GiveBloodNHS app or by calling 0300 123 23 23.
