Welcome to this blog

This blog is written and published by individual NBS staff. All opinions are the authors' own. This blog has no connections with any official organisations.

It has been set up to inform the public of a side of our current story which we feel needs wider exposure.

The National Blood Service is under severe attack from a restructuring strategy which staff are strongly opposed to. We want the public, including blood donors and patients, to be aware of the whole situation, as stakeholders, alongside the staff, in the future of the Service.

Thanks for reading, and please get in touch for more information.

Please visit us again for regular updates.

So, what exactly does the Blood Service do anyway?

The National Blood Service is a vital part of the NHS. We deliver blood, blood products and tissues from our 15 blood centres for transfusion to patients anywhere in England and North Wales.

We depend entirely on voluntary donations given generously by the general public.

Our processing labs filter donations and split them into components including red cells (often used for operations or major traumas), white cells (often used for leukaemia patients), frozen plasma (often used for serious burns victims) and platelets (used for those who have disorders with clotting).
Our testing labs test every unit to determine which group it belongs to. There are 8 groups: O+ (the most common), O-, A+, A-, B+, B-, AB+ and AB- (the rarest). There are further specialist groups within these, like Sickle Cell negative. Every donation is also rigorously screened for infections so that it is safe for patients. The blood which patients receive is specially matched to their individual medical needs and can make the difference between life and death.

Our staff are highly experienced and trained in the latest transfusion science research available.

Every year we collect, test, process, store and issue 2.1 million blood donations.

Our National Health Service would not be able to function without the National Blood Service.