Aside from raising awareness, this year’s World Blood Donor Day marks changes in the forms that donors are asked to fill in.
All donors will now be asked the same questions regarding their sexual activity, regardless of gender or sexuality, with a specific focus on the last three months.
It is hoped that the new donor safety assessment will help staff to judge donors on a more individual basis and allow more people to donate blood.
Ella Poppitt, Chief Nurse for Blood Donation at NHS Blood and Transplant, has said:
“Patient safety is at the heart of everything we do. This change is about switching around how we assess the risk of exposure to a sexual infection, so it is more tailored to the individual”.
“Staff are receiving training to make sure these more personal conversations are conducted with care and sensitivity and accurate information is captured.”
World Blood Donor Day takes place on June 14th each year and aims to celebrate all blood donors and to raise awareness of the need to donate blood and how people can volunteer to become donors.
This year the slogan for World Blood Donor Day has been updated from Share life, Give blood to Give blood and keep the world beating, highlighting the vital contribution blood donors make each day.
NHS Blood and Transplant stated that they need around 135,000 new donors each year to meet demand and replace those who can no longer donate.
Anyone between the ages of 17 and 66 can give blood, so long as they are fit and healthy.
There are regular pop up donation centres across the country and 23 permanent donor centres, including one in Sheffield. The city’s donor centre is located on Church Street and is open from mornings to evenings, Sundays to Fridays.