New Year appeal seeks more male blood donors

NHS Blood and Transplant is urging men in Lancaster to match women in making becoming a blood donor their New Year's resolution for 2019.
NHS Blood and Transplant is urging men in Lancaster to match women in making becoming a blood donor their New Years resolution for 2019.NHS Blood and Transplant is urging men in Lancaster to match women in making becoming a blood donor their New Years resolution for 2019.
NHS Blood and Transplant is urging men in Lancaster to match women in making becoming a blood donor their New Years resolution for 2019.

New figures reveal more women than men in the region became New Year blood donors in 2018.

Figures show that last year 295 women in Lancashire who registered in January became blood donors, compared to only 133 men, despite male donors being more likely to have blood that can be used for some products such as platelets and allogeneic serum drops to treat people with dry eye conditions.

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Donors of every gender are welcome, and men and women can have the same blood groups. However, men’s blood can contain fewer antibodies against red and white blood cells because women often make these antibodies during pregnancy.

This means male blood is often more suitable for creating blood products used to treat patients. Men also generally have higher iron levels than women, so they are less likely to be deferred from donating due to low haemoglobin. NHS Blood and Transplant has been analysing donor recruitment trends and is now working on reaching more male potential donors.

Mike Stredder, Director of Blood Donation for NHS Blood and Transplant, said: “We’re incredibly grateful to all our female donors in Lancaster who are vital in providing lifesaving blood to those in need. But we need men to catch up with recent recruitment because their blood can have different characteristics which can make it important in certain situations.”

Make, view and change appointments by calling 0300 123 23 23, using the GiveBlood app, or visit blood.co.uk.