More BAME Blood Donors needed

There are only 134 blood donors from black or Asian communities in Walsall South. More donors are needed. The ‘Represent’ campaign highlights that only 3% of regular blood donors last year were from black and Asian communities.

Donors with Black or Asian heritage are more likely to be rare blood types and are more likely to have blood conditions such as sickle cell or thalassaemia which require regular blood transfusions. Patients need blood which is more closely matched to their own to get the best outcome, the best way to get this match is blood from a similar ethnic background.

People with Black or Asian heritage are also more likely to have conditions such as diabetes, which increases the chances of needing an organ transplant. Donors from the same ethnic background could provide the closest match for patients. I encourage members of black and Asian communities to come forward and donate blood.

You can find more information about the ‘represent’ campaign: https://www.blood.co.uk/news-and-campaigns/represent/