The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan is urging Londoners, including residents in Ealing from Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities to give blood.
More donors of Black heritage are now required as there has been a rise in demand for rare blood types including Ro, which is most often needed by patients with sickle cell. Black heritage donors are 10 times more likely to have the Ro subtype. During 2022, London hospitals asked for 58 per cent more Ro blood than they did five years ago.
NHS Blood and Transplant has said that at least 16,000 more donors of Black African and Black Caribbean heritage are needed each year to ensure the right blood is available for patients who need it.
In London, each month 1,300 donors of Black heritage are needed to give blood to for giving transfusions to sickle cell patients, as well as being used in emergencies, childbirth, during surgery and in cancer treatments.
Giving blood takes only 60 minutes and the nearest blood donation centre for Ealing residents is located at Westfield shopping centre in Shepherds Bush.
In order to donate blood and make an appointment, registration to the service needs to be made by clicking here.
The Mayor said: “We urgently need more Londoners to come forward and give blood to help deliver lifesaving treatments across the capital and the country. Giving blood saves lives, providing a lifeline in an emergency and for people who need long-term treatments. I was proud to host this blood drive at City Hall as part of my work to build a better London for all, and encourage more Londoners to become donors.”
Beverley De-Gale , co-founder of African Caribbean Leukaemia Trust (ACLT) said: “Registering to book a blood donation appointment is a simple process which goes onto save thousands of lives. I’m thrilled The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan is supporting such an important initiative and leading by example, by donating blood at City Hall today. Together let’s give those in urgent need the lifeline and treatment they require in an emergency or to treat lifelong illnesses such as sickle cell.”
David Rose, director of donor experience at NHS Blood and Transplant said: “We urgently need more donors of Black heritage to help tackle the health inequalities affecting patients from a similar ethnic background who rely on regular blood transfusions, a growing number of whom are Londoners. While there has been a rise in new donors of Black heritage in recent years we are only able to provide matched blood for just over half of the hospital requests for Ro blood – most often needed by Sickle cell patients and most commonly found in donors of Black heritage – putting patients at risk of health complications in the future.”
Dr Debbie Weekes-Bernard, Deputy Mayor for Communities and Social Justice added: “Due to our wonderfully diverse population, London is in a unique position to recruit more donors from Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities, and we desperately need more Black Londoners to step forward to help those patients struggling with sickle cell.”
