Kent appeal for almost 6000 blood donors to meet demand

An urgent appeal has been made for almost 6000 new blood donors in Kent.

NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) said 5,911 new donors were needed to save lives in the county over the next year.

It revealed the figures as part of a national campaign to identify people with most needed blood types. A further 2,632 new donors are needed in Surrey and 3,997 in Sussex.

NHSBT particularly needs more black African, black Caribbean and young donors to come forward.

The service saw blood donations drop during the Coronavirus pandemic due to concerns about safety.

It now wants to identify more people with rare blood types needed to treat sickle cell blood disorder, as patients need regular blood transfusions.

NHSBT wants to find more donors with sub blood type "Ro".

It says the demand from patients, mostly children, for that blood type will have doubled from 2016/17 to 2025/26.

The service added that 55% of black blood donors have the "Ro" subtype, compared to 2.4% of donors from other ethnicities.

Dr Bola Owolabi, director of health inequalities at NHS England, said:"A shortage of blood donation from people of a black heritage often means that some patients don't receive the best blood-type match and are therefore at risk of serious complications.

"I would urge anyone who is able to give blood to come forward as soon as possible."

Follow BBC South East on Facebook, on Twitter, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].