Whether you plan to stay close to home, go to a festival or take a trip further afield, it is easy to get caught up with preparations before going away and forget about appointments. Blood is always needed and hospitals in England rely on around 6,000 units a day to treat patients. But blood stocks can come under pressure at this time of year as people get distracted by holidays, sporting events and the warmer weather.
The blood you give is precious, and we plan our sessions so patients always get the blood they need. We particularly need people with blood groups O negative, B negative, AB negative and A negative- to come forward and people from Black and South Asian communities.
Michelle Laserna, Senior Marketing Coordinator at NHS Blood and Transplant, said: “This is the time of year when we need our amazing donors in the Cambridge region more than ever. If you can make and keep an appointment you will be doing an incredibly important thing – helping us to save and improve lives at a time. So it is important to keep your appointment if you can or change it as soon as possible. The cancelled slot can then be reallocated to someone else.
“Please make a date to donate now. Each blood donation you make can save or improve the lives of up to three people and platelet donors can help three adults or 12 children each time they donate.”
New blood and platelet donors are always welcome. We need 200,000 new donors each year to replace those who can no longer donate for reasons such as ill health, pregnancy or foreign travel, and to ensure we have the right mix of blood groups to match patient needs in the future.
Make and keep your appointment to donate in Cambridge by calling the Donor Line on 0300 123 23 23 or visit www.blood.co.uk
Cambridge city donor sessions take place on Thursday July 7th and Tuesday July 19th at Wesley Methodist Church (Christs Pieces Cambridge, CB1 1LG) with other sessions organised for a number of other locations in the East of England, including Bury St Edmunds, Saffron Walden, Haverhill, Ely, March, Huntingdon, Peterborough and Royston.
It is also easy to book through mobile apps for Windows, Android and Apple devices. To download the app, search 'NHSGiveBlood' in the app store.
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- For more information about local sessions please contact Michelle Laserna, [email protected].
- For additional information please contact the NHS Blood and Transplant press office on 01923 367600 or via [email protected].
- For out of hours enquiries please call: 0117 969 2444