Festive appeal for blood donations in Leeds

People with two valuable blood groups are being urged to donate at Leeds Donor Centre ahead of the festive period.
Blood bags - NHS Blood and Transplant are urging people with two rare blood groups to donate after bad weather hit blood collections.Blood bags - NHS Blood and Transplant are urging people with two rare blood groups to donate after bad weather hit blood collections.
Blood bags - NHS Blood and Transplant are urging people with two rare blood groups to donate after bad weather hit blood collections.

NHS Blood and Transplant needs donors with B negative and O negative blood to donate after the bad weather hit blood collection.

Donors with these groups will be able to walk in and donate at Leeds Donor Centre on The Headrow, without the need to make an appointment.

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Jon Latham, NHS Blood and Transplant said: “The recent poor weather has resulted in us having less O negative and B negative blood than is required for patients going into Christmas.

“If you are a donor with one of these important blood groups, please just walk into Leeds Donor Centre as soon as you can, and we will take your blood.

“Seriously ill patients in Leeds will need blood this Christmas and they will rely on the generosity of people making time to donate now.

“If you know that you have one of these blood groups and you can donate please take action now and walk in and donate – you will save lives.”

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O negative is the universal donor blood which can be safely give to almost anyone, making it especially valuable for trauma patients where there is little time to test for blood groups. Only nine per cent of donors are O negative.

B negative is particularly important because many patients with serious blood disorders. Only two per cent of donors are B negative and it is a blood group more common in black and Asian people.

For more information, call 0300 123 23 23 or visit www.blood.co.uk.