Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has had discussions with (a) the Royal College of Nursing and (b) patients with blood group O on potential supply problems of blood group O.

The Department has not had discussions with the Royal College of Nursing or patients with blood group O on the supply of O negative blood to National Health Service hospitals.

Some blood groups, such as O negative (the universal blood group), A negative and B negative are particularly vulnerable to shortfalls. NHS Blood and Transplant want people with these blood groups to donate as regularly as they can. There is also a need for more black African, black Caribbean, mixed race and South Asian people to become blood donors to reflect the ethnic diversity of patients.

There is a current media push by NHS Blood and Transplant asking donors to make and keep appointments during the football and hot weather, especially if they are part of the O negative blood group.

However, there is no shortage of blood and NHS Blood and Transplant has continued to meet hospitals’ requirements.