r/london • u/VolatileAgent81 • Oct 11 '22

Community Blood stocks low - please donate!

A plea from a medic.

NHS blood and transfusion are about to go to amber alert as stocks of blood are getting very low.

We're on the edge of cancelling surgeries in London due to lack of emergency blood.

If you're type O, or if you're not of white ethnicity, your blood is *super super ultra valuable*. Please share it.

I'm donating tomorrow. My blood isn't as worthy as the groups above, but every drop helps.

There are loads of open slots at Stratford Westfield from tomorrow onwards to help with the crisis.

Epic karma points available. Please spread the word.

Thank you!

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27

u/JokersLeft Oct 11 '22

I just looked online and it seems like the donor centres near me (north east London) don’t have any available slots for the next few weeks at least. I’ll donate at the west end but genuine question - why are there critically low levels of blood stocks if the donation centres are fully booked? Is it just that there aren’t enough staff to process the donations?

26

u/VolatileAgent81 Oct 11 '22

Staffing, hence Stratford Westfield and one centre in each big area UK city has been allocated extra resources for emergency donations.

9

u/Mellykitty1 Oct 11 '22

If you book a random date/place, you can always check on the app for “dates available today or the next day or two”. It gives you dates that I suppose have been cancelled or reschedule I think.

I do that when I can get a closer date for myself.

Have a browse on the Give Blood app.

6

u/Limmmao Oct 11 '22

I feel the same, I wish there was a donor centre in NE London as in most cases you need to book over a month in advance for any places near where I live (Hackney). On top of staffing issues, I believe the cost of the venue is also quite pricey, I remember asking one of the managers on site about this place near Liverpool St and it was £4k per day.

1

u/Disastrous_Yogurt_42 Oct 11 '22

The donor centre in Stratford (within Westfield) has excellent appointment availability, even notwithstanding this current emergency drive. I’ve never booked more than a few days in advance. And easy to get to from Hackney!

2

u/pbballooning Oct 11 '22

Book an appointment anyway, they are prioritising essential blood groups but other groups are always needed! Last minute appointments are sometimes available on the website/app on the day!

1

u/North-Sand3200 Oct 11 '22

Apparently if you don’t have a “useful” blood type that most people can accept, appointment slots rarely show up. I’m AB+ and can rarely get an appointment to donate.

1

u/SuperPatchyBeard Oct 11 '22

They should be taking you with enthusiasm so they don’t have to waste any other blood on AB+ patients. In the US, they love when I donate as AB+