Give the best gift of all this Christmas

…and make a date to donate

The festive season is always a difficult time of year to maintain blood stocks, which usually dip from mid-December to early January. With the usual winter ailments doing the rounds, making it impossible for some donors to donate, we’re also competing for precious time with Christmas shopping and get-togethers with family and friends.

If you are well and able, and haven’t already done so, please book your winter appointment today. We guarantee it will be the most appreciated gift you give this year! All blood groups are important, but we’re appealing particularly to O-negative, B-negative and A-negative donors to make an appointment as well as those with rare blood types.

Please also bear in mind the importance of keeping appointments if you can; nine out of ten donors do, but if you are unable to make, it please give us at least three days’ notice to allow us time to offer it to somebody else.

Visit blood.co.uk or call 0300 123 23 23 to book your appointment. You can also use our mobile app - search ‘NHSGiveBlood’ in the app store.

Ask a friend to donate this New Year

We would like to thank all our loyal blood donors for their commitment to saving lives. Could you help us even more by recruiting a friend to donate in 2019?

It would be great if more people could make it their New Year’s Resolution to become a donor.

Our committed donors are already aware of the value of giving blood and platelets, but just 3 per cent of the eligible population give blood.

This means that we don’t always have enough new donors coming forward to provide the right types of blood to match patients’ needs and to replace those people who can’t donate anymore.

Please spread the word, and encourage someone you know to take up this life-saving habit!

Struggling to find an appointment?

If you are finding that you can’t book a convenient appointment at your local session, please check 24 hours before it’s due to take place for any last minute cancellations.

Why not also try one of our 23 permanent donor centres? Many of these are in city centres – perfect for fitting around a spot of Christmas shopping! Go to blood.co.uk to find your nearest donor centre.

If you are a brand new donor who can’t find an appointment straightaway, please don’t worry: just make an appointment for the New Year.

We’re currently prioritising existing donors with known blood types to help build stocks for Christmas. However, we do need donations throughout the year, and would really appreciate your help in early 2019.

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In this issue

News - winter 2018 Coming back for more Give the best gift of all this Christmas A message from Sally Johnson, interim chief executive Mums say, "Thank you!" Blood donors to help with kidney transplant study Working out what the future holds for patients Changes are coming Helping premature babies The right type