The NHS has made an urgent plea for more blood donors in Manchester during the Halloween period. The appeal is part of an effort to combat the ongoing blood shortage. Manchester's two donor centres, located at Norfolk House near the Arndale shopping centre and Plymouth Grove on the city centre outskirts, have around 350 appointments available this week and hundreds more in the coming weeks.
The NHS Blood and Transplant service is particularly keen to see donors fill these slots over the coming weeks and months to ensure blood stocks can be maintained throughout the winter period. An Amber alert was issued in July for "severely low stocks" of O-negative blood, and this alert remains in place. "More donors from the Black community are particularly needed", as they are more likely to have the blood type used to treat sickle cell.
Currently, the NHS only has enough donors to supply "half the amount of blood hospitals needed by sickle cell patients", with the rest having to be substituted with O-negative. People with O-negative and B-negative blood types are particularly urged to come forward as donors. Both existing and first-time donors are welcome.
Mark Chambers, director of donor experience at NHS Blood and Transplant, said: "Halloween is all about fake blood and gore. "But we need real blood – and lots of it – to save lives at Halloween and all year round. "We saw a fantastic response from our amazing donors in Manchester after issuing the Amber alert.
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