- Around a third of donation appointments remain unbooked in December*
- Over the festive season around 24,000 appointments to give blood are missed**
- In December the number of appointments cancelled by donors rises by nearly a third***
Cambridge Donor Centre, Long Road, Cambridge CB2 0PT is open Monday to Friday and some Saturdays and Sundays.
There is demand for lifesaving blood and platelets 365 days a year, this doesn’t stop for Christmas. Many children and adults will need transfusions over the festive period, for example as treatment for a blood condition or cancer or due to surgery, childbirth or an accident.
With the winter weather, rise in colds and bugs, travelling and people getting busy, giving blood and platelets can slip off to-do lists. Around a third of appointments remain unbooked in December*. Over the festive season around 24,000 appointments to give blood are also missed**. It’s really important that donors who can give blood and platelets do so, please make and keep an appointment.
If you are unable to make your appointment please let us know, with seven days notice if possible, so that we can book another blood donor in. In December the number of appointments cancelled by donors, within three days of the session, rises by nearly a third***.
Rylan Feery, aged four (pictured with his mum), is one child who may need blood this Christmas. Blood saved Rylan’s life when he was a baby and he’s needed transfusions ever since to keep him well. He has a blood condition called hereditary spherocytosis, which means his red blood cells are sphere shaped not doughnut shaped. His spleen thinks they are damaged and attacks them.
Rylan, who lives in Peterborough but travels to Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge for treatment, has had to have many transfusions over the years and his blood levels will be monitored over Christmas.
Mum Kayleigh says: “Having hereditary spherocytosis is like living your life on a rollercoaster ride. One minute Rylan’s up and feeling great, the next he has crashed and feeling tired. When he has a transfusion, his colour comes back immediately, his lively and has a good appetite. It was amazing to see the difference in him the first time he had a transfusion, I remember sitting there, looking at him and thinking without these amazing people Rylan wouldn't be here now. They will always be in my heart.”
Rylan’s dad, Michael, also has the condition and wouldn’t be here without blood donors.
All blood groups are being asked to make and keep their lifesaving appointment in the run up to and over Christmas, but vulnerable groups like Onegative, B negative and A negative platelets are particularly important. If you are one of these blood groups please try your best to keep your appointment. If you can’t please let us know as soon as possible.
It’s also important we get donations from across the country’s diverse population, as some disorders are more common in certain ethnic backgrounds and patients need to receive well matched blood. Donors from the same ethnic background are more likely to be a close match.
The top ten reasons to give blood up to and over Christmas are:
- Patients need blood 365 days a year
- Missed appointment are higher in December and early January
- Shopping, parties and catching-up with friends and family can get in the way in donating
- The rise in bugs and colds prevents more people from donating
- Travelling over the festive period can get in the way of donating
- Bad weather puts-off people from going to a donation session
- Hospitals ask for more blood in the run up to Christmas and New Year
- Every week, we need to replace the nation’s entire red cell stock
- We have to replace the national supply of platelets every few days
- Stocks of rare blood groups and platelets are most likely to fall over Christmas and New Year
Michelle Laserna, Senior Marketing Coordinator at NHS Blood and Transplant, said: “We need our amazing donors in Cambridge more than ever at this time of year.
“If you make and keep an appointment this December you will be saving and improving lives over the festive season – can you think of a better gift to give?
“Please make a date to donate now. If you cannot make your appointment to give blood, please let us know as soon as possible.”
Red blood cells only have a shelf life of 35 days, and platelets, tiny cells in the blood which enable clotting, only have a shelf life of seven days. Every week the entire red cell stock needs replacing and the national supply of platelets needs replenishing every few days. NHS Blood and Transplant needs people to continue donating over the holiday period to renew stocks and meet demand from hospitals treating seriously ill patients.
Cambridge Donor Centre, Long Road, Cambridge CB2 0PT is open Monday to Friday and some Saturdays and Sundays.
To book an appointment visit www.blood.co.uk, use an NHS Give Blood app or contact us on 0300 123 23 23. If you are not able to make an appointment, please let us know with seven days notice so that another donor can donate.
* Between 30 and 35% of appointments remained unbooked by the time of the session in December 2014.
**Missed appointments rise in December and early January. Missed appointments during 2014 rose from 18% in November to more than 22% at New Year resulting in 24,000 missed dates to donate over the holiday period.
***During December 2014 there was a 28% increase from November 2014 in cancellations by donors within three days of a session
For additional information please contact Michelle Laserna on 0203 123 8321 or NHS Blood and Transplant press office in 01923 367600.