NHS Blood and Transplant has put out an urgent appeal for donors with O-negative and B-negative blood as an increase in demand for certain blood types leads to a fall in stocks.

The lack of O-negative and B-negative donors giving blood in the run up to the recent bank holiday meant that stocks of these groups threatened to fall below the two-day level of supply.

As a result, NHS Blood and Transplant has asked anyone who knows they have these blood types, but may have not donated before, to give blood.

To compound the problem, there is a longer-term issue putting real pressure on these blood groups, particularly stocks of O-negative, which is increasingly being used as an emergency substitute for Ro blood because the NHS does not have enough Ro blood to meet demand. This rare sub-type is more common in black people, but most people don’t know they have this sub-type until they donate and there is a huge shortage of Ro blood donors.

Currently, there are 15,000 people living with sickle cell in the UK, and more than 300 new babies born each year with the condition - a serious inherited blood disorder where the red blood cells develop abnormally. The urgent need for O-negative and B-negative is driven by changes in how sickle cell is treated which has significantly driven up demand and the NHS is struggling to match this.

There is currently an urgent appeal for more people from the black community to give blood, as NHS Blood and Transplant needs at least 40,000 new black donors to help these patients. More than 7,000 have come forward since a similar appeal in June last year, but more are needed to help ease the pressure on blood stocks and make sure people in need receive the best possible blood match.

O negative is also the ‘universal’ blood group and is often used when a patient’s blood type is not known, like in emergency situations.

B negative stocks are low also because many patients with serious blood disorders, like sickle cell, need B negative blood. Only two per cent of donors are B negative and it is a blood group more common in black people.

O negative and B negative donors can walk in and donate at most fixed site donor centres, without the need to make an appointment or call 0300 123 23 23 to ask for a priority appointment at one of the community blood sessions.

Mike Stredder, director of blood donation at NHS Blood and Transplant, said: “The overall demand for blood is declining year on year. However, the need for specific blood groups such as Ro blood type and O-negative are on the increase.

“We need an additional 4,000 regular O-negative donors to those we have now to consistently provide seriously ill patients with the blood they need. If you know you are O-negative or B-negative and have never donated before, now is the time to make a difference.

“If you are O or B-negative, please call us on 0300 123 23 23 to get a priority appointment or walk in to one of our fixed site donor centres to give blood.”

For more details about donor centres, call the Donor Line on 0300 123 23 23 or visiting blood.co.uk.

The next community blood donor sessions in East Hampshire will take place at Alton Community Centre on Wednesday, July 25; Perins Community School at Alresford on Tuesday, July 31; and Four Marks Village Hall on Wednesday, August 1.