Campaign launched by NHS Blood and Transplant after drop in donors (From Craven Herald)

Campaign launched by NHS Blood and Transplant after drop in donors

11:00am Tuesday 29th January 2013 in News

The number of new blood donors aged 17 and 18 nearly halved in Craven last year.

Young people are vital to the blood service, accounting for around 40 per cent of new donors each year.

In 2012, just 14 youngsters aged 17 and 18 signed up, compared to 25 the previous year.

The figures are equally stark in the 17 to 25 age bracket, where the number of registrations fell from a high of 190 in 2010 and 2011 to 113 last year.

Now NHS Blood and Transplant has launched a campaign aimed at recruiting 100,000 new donors in the next 100 days to protect future blood stocks.

Jon Latham for NHS Blood and Transplant said: “The number of young people donating has been falling for the last decade, but this year there’s been a sharp drop and we now need 100,000 donors to sign up in the next 100 days to start addressing the shortfall.

“We welcome all eligible new donors, but a failure to boost the number of young donors now will put a strain on the blood service in the years to come.” Every year 225,000 new donors are needed to replace existing donors who drop out of the system, and the dramatic decline in the number of younger donors signing up means this year’s need is more urgent than ever.

The campaign is being supported by stars of TV soap Hollyoaks, who have modelled limited edition Blood Sister and Blood Brother T-shirts created by Red or Dead founder Wayne Hemingway.

Hollyoaks actress Jorgie Porter said: “I really wanted to support this appeal because giving blood is such an amazing thing to do. Blood isn’t just needed when people have accidents, it’s also used to help treat health conditions including cancer and long-term illnesses and in maternity care.

“If someone you loved needed blood you’d want it to be there, so if you can donate then please do.”

Anyone aged between 17 and 65, weighing more than 50kg (seven stone 12lbs) and in general good health could potentially become a blood donor.

For more information or to book an appointment, call 0300 123 23 23 or visit blood.co.uk