Tens of thousands of people in the UK have sought to offer blood since Wednesday after the National Health Service (NHS) issued an amber alert over low supplies.
The alert was triggered after stock levels were predicted to fall below what would be needed for two days, meaning hospitals would need to delay non-urgent elective surgeries that require blood to be on standby, such as hip replacements.
NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) blamed the shortfall on staff shortages and illnesses following COVID-19 lockdowns. It also said the pandemic has changed donor behaviour as “people are less likely to visit collection centres in towns and cities.”
NHSBT called on people, particularly those who are O negative or O positive blood types, to donate blood.
Within 24 hours after the alert was issued, more than 10,000 appointments to donate blood over the next few weeks had been booked.
On the blood website, 100,000 people queued to offer help, with some waiting up to an hour to book.
More than 166,000 people also visited the website overall, while 7,500 people registered as new donors on Wednesday—the highest daily spike in new registrations in 20 years.
Thousands would have been unable to book an appointment on Wednesday, as a lack of staff to run donor sessions has limited how many appointments can be offered, but NHSBT said it was quickly developing a “register your interest” form so it can work with new donors who tried to sign up, and is urging all donors to come back in a few weeks to check for more appointments.
The NHSBT continued to appeal to the O blood groups, who have been given a dedicated line for priority appointments.
An NHSBT spokeswoman said the public response has been “amazing.”
“We have been reminded in the last 24 hours of the incredible goodwill and spirit of the public towards helping patients in times of great difficulty,” she said, thanking existing donors and those who registered for the first time.
“We’d like to extend a special thanks to those donors who called us to express their empathy and offering to do anything they could to help,” she said.
“Staffing and appointment availability continues to be our biggest challenge and the amber alert will remain in place for at least the next four weeks, where unfortunately limited appointment availability to donate will be commonplace due to staffing levels.”
The spokeswoman asked people to were unable to book an appointment to check again in a few weeks as hospitals are in constant need of blood, which can only be stored for 35 days.
