Military veterans are being urged to come forward to assist with a national shortage of O negative blood.
Health chiefs are appealing to those with such backgrounds because they normally know their blood type, having been tested during service.
NHS Blood and Transplant is currently urging anyone with O-type blood to come forward.
There is a particular shortage of O negative blood, with a warning issued on Thursday when there was less than two days’ supply left.
The crisis has been fuelled by the recent cyber attack on London hospitals, which has left hospitals unable to match blood types as quickly as normal.
As a result, hospitals are relying heavily on O negative blood, which can be used by anyone.
Officials are also seeking to boost supplies of O positive blood, which can be used by men and women past child-bearing age.
Health officials say the shortages are being exacerbated by high numbers of unfilled appointments as the summer holidays get underway.
NHS Blood and Transplant is now launching a drive targeting military veterans who already know they are O negative.
Mark Chambers, Director of Donor Experience at NHS Blood and Transplant said: “We urgently need O negative donors to book an appointment to donate.
“We’re especially appealing to military veterans who already know they have the life-saving O negative blood type. We call these vital donors our ‘first responders’ and urge more veterans to come forward and join our volunteer force.”
On Thursday health chiefs issued an “Amber Alert” because blood shortages had reached unprecedented levels, with just 1.6 days left of O negative blood.
NHS trusts have been told to restrict the use of all O type blood to essential cases, while donors are being urged to come forward and book appointments.
Some operations may be delayed to manage limited blood stocks and reduce demand for transfusions.
Hospitals have been told that planned surgery should only be delayed if it is “lower priority” - with the delay used to provide treatment for anaemia, reducing the chance of a transfusion being needed when the operation goes ahead.
By Friday stocks of O negative were back to two days’ supply, but NHSBT said much of this was because hospitals had reduced their usage of blood.
A spokesman for NHSBT said there had been a “fantastic uplift in calls and bookings” in the aftermath of the appeal which should make a difference in days to come.
NHS Blood and Transplant said the appeal on Thursday saw an extra 13,000 appointments booked within 24 hours.
However, 40,000 appointments remain available between now and September.
The spokesman urged those unable to get an immediate appointment to keep checking availability in coming days, weeks and months, saying there was a need to “keep this momentum” to sufficiently sustain stocks.
The amber alert is the second to be issued by NHS Blood and Transplant.
In October 2022 it said blood stocks were low because of staff shortages and “a change in donor behaviour” in the wake of the pandemic which meant donors were less likely to travel to centres.
However, donor numbers have fallen following NHSBT’s decision to scrap the system of walk-in donation in 2017, along with the use of “bloodmobiles”, which used to visit high streets and workplaces
NHSBT said fewer donors were needed, and that it aimed to better target appeals to the types of blood that was needed, with fewer small sessions.
However as a result donors often have to travel further and many complain about struggles to navigate online booking.
The latest figures show around 800,000 active donors, compared with 850,000 when the changes were introduced.
The Health Secretary on Friday said the NHS app should be changed to tell patients their blood type and target those who can help when stocks are low, the Health Secretary has said.
Wes Streeting said he was “really worried” about national shortages of O negative blood, which have forced hospitals to restrict their use of it.
He is to meet with health officials to examine ways to change the NHS app so that blood type is automatically stored on the app, once it has been recorded.
The Health Secretary said he had tried to find out his blood type after the appeal for blood in the wake of the cyber attack on London hospitals, only to find it was not recorded on the app, nor held by his GP, despite having undergone repeated blood tests.
Mr Streeting found out he was unable to give blood, because of his recent history of kidney cancer.
But he said the NHS should make changes, so that such information is routinely stored, enabling mass targeting of the population when particular blood stocks run low.
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2024-07-27T10:02:03Z dg43tfdfdgfd