THOUSANDS of people in Oxfordshire offered to donate blood in response to an alert over critically low stocks issued by NHS Blood and Transplant.

Yesterday a spokeswoman for the NHS said that overall blood stocks stand at 3.1 days but levels of O type blood have fallen to below two days, while the aim is to keep at least six days of stock.

Most appointments to donate blood in Oxford are now fully booked, although the NHS is still appealing for people with O negative or O positive blood to come forward for priority booking.

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O negative blood is the type that can be given to everyone and is used in emergencies when a person’s blood group is unknown.

A spokesperson for NHS Blood and Transplant said: “Our sessions in the Oxford area are currently mostly full. Our main challenge is running enough blood donation sessions.

“So rather than a general appeal to the public, we're asking donors to please keep their appointments if they have them.

“Also if people can’t get an appointment immediately, it is ok to book in for the coming weeks and months.

“We need to ensure donors keep donating and filling all appointments available. We also encourage people to keep checking for any cancellations and last minute availability.”

Yesterday hospitals all over the UK were told to implement plans to protect their stocks but Oxford University Hospital trust, who run the John Radcliffe and Churchill Hospital in Oxford and the Horton General Hospital in Banbury, has confirmed that treatments and surgery are continuing as normal.

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Dr Anny Sykes, chief medical officer at the trust, said: “We are working closely with NHS Blood and Transplant to manage blood supply – donation sessions in Oxford are currently mostly full.

“So far treatments and surgery are continuing as normal. If any patients are impacted by this, we will be in direct contact with them.

“We will continue to carry out all urgent, emergency and trauma surgery, cancer surgery, transplant surgery, and blood transfusions to treat people with long term conditions.”

NHS Blood and Transplant has said that maintaining blood stocks remains a challenge after the Covid pandemic, mainly because of staff shortages and sickness but also as people are less likely to visit collection centres in towns and cities.

Action to tackle the issue includes moving more staff to the front line to open up more appointments, speeding up recruitment to fill vacant posts and using agency staff, as well as retaining existing workers.

In total, more than 10,000 appointments to donate blood over the next few weeks were booked in the past 24 hours. 

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This story was written by Anna Colivicchi, she joined the team this year and covers health stories for the Oxfordshire papers. 

Get in touch with her by emailing: Anna.colivicchi@newsquest.co.uk

Follow her on Twitter @AnnaColivicchi