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London hospitals: Blood group O donors sought after cyberattack

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Image source, Getty Images

Image description, Blood of blood group 0 negative can easily be administered to people of any blood group.

  • Author, James W. Kelly and PA Media
  • Role, BBC News

Following the ransomware attack on major London hospitals, a call was launched for type O blood donors to make appointments across the country.

NHS Blood and Transplant is asking blood group O donors to make appointments to donate as this is safe for all patients.

Due to the IT attack, the affected hospitals are currently unable to reconcile their patients’ blood donations with the usual frequency.

Last week, several London hospitals declared a state of emergency, cancelled operations and examinations and were no longer able to carry out blood transfusions. The reason for this was the attack on the pathology company Synnovis. The Russian cybercriminal group Qilin is said to be behind the attack.

Memos sent to NHS staff at King’s College Hospital, Guy’s Hospital and St Thomas’ Hospital (including Royal Brompton and Evelina London Children’s Hospital) and primary health services in London said a critical incident had been declared.

NHS Blood and Transplant is now calling on all blood donors with blood groups O positive and O negative to make appointments at one of the 25 NHS blood donation centres in England to top up their supply.

For operations 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 just 35 days, so supplies must be constantly replenished, the NHS said.

Image source, EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

This means that more units of these blood types will be needed than usual in the coming weeks.

Blood group 0 negative can be given to anyone; it is also called the universal blood group.

It is used in emergency situations or when a patient’s blood type is unknown.

Rescue aircraft and emergency vehicles carry supplies of oxygen saturation.

Only 8% of the population has blood type O negative, but it accounts for about 15% of hospital admissions.

O-positive is the most common blood type, 35% 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% of the population, can benefit from an O-positive donation.

This National Blood Week, it was revealed that hospitals need three blood donations every minute and that around 13,000 appointments are available at NHS blood centres nationwide this week, including 3,400 in London.

‘Over and beyond’

Dr Gail Miflin, chief medical officer of NHS Blood and Transplant, said: “Patient safety is our highest priority.

“If hospitals do not know a patient’s blood type or cannot identify their blood, it is safe to use type O blood.

“To help London hospitals carry out further operations and provide the best possible care to all patients, we need more O-negative and O-positive donors than usual.”

Professor Stephen Powis, medical director of the NHS, said staff were “doing everything humanly possible to minimise the significant disruption to patients caused by the IT attack”.

“We know that numerous surgeries and appointments have been postponed or diverted to neighboring hospitals that were not affected by the cyberattack because we prioritize pathology services for the most clinically urgent cases,” he added.

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