O-positive and O-negative donors are being asked to make urgent blood donation appointments following an IT incident in London hospitals

England’s top doctor today (Monday 10 June) joined calls by NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) for blood group O positive and O negative donors to urgently make appointments to donate at one of the 25 NHS blood centres in English inner cities to boost supplies of group O blood following the cyber incident in London.

This comes as the NHS announces this week – National Blood Week – that hospitals need three blood donations every minute for emergencies, births and routine treatments, and is calling on more people to become life-saving donors.

This week, around 13,000 appointments are available at NHS blood donation centres across the country, including 3,400 in London alone.

The NHS advises all patients to continue to report as usual following the cyberattack.

Impact of cyberattack on blood supplies

The IT incident at a pathology service provider means that the affected hospitals are currently unable to compare their patients’ blood samples with the usual frequency.

For surgeries and procedures that require blood, hospitals must use type O blood because it is safe for all patients and blood has a shelf life of 35 days, so supplies must be constantly replenished.

This means that more units of these blood types than usual will be needed in the coming weeks to support the extensive efforts of frontline staff to safely maintain care for patients on the ground.

Why the O-type is so important

O negative is the blood type that can be given to anyone – known as the universal blood type. It is used in emergencies or when a patient’s blood type is unknown. Ambulance helicopters and emergency vehicles carry blood type O negative. Only 8 percent of the population has blood type O negative, but it makes up about 15 percent of hospital prescriptions.

Blood type O positive is the most common – 35 percent of donors have it – and it can be donated to anyone with any positive blood type. This means that three out of four people, or 76 percent of the population, can benefit from a blood donation with blood type O positive.

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