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14th June 2013, is the 10th World Blood Donor Day, raising awareness of the need for safe blood and blood products and thanking voluntary unpaid blood donors for their gift. Blood and blood products save lives in emergencies and improve the lives of people with severe and chronic illnesses.
During the summer holiday period, donated blood supplies can fall by 20%. Donors are unavailable when travelling, and may be unable to donate immediately on their return. For example, following a visit to a country where West Nile virus is present, a donor must defer for 4 weeks. On return from a malarious area, the donor must defer for 12 months. Information on donor deferral in case of potential exposure to these and other travel-related infection is found in the UK Red Book.
This year (2013), the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service (SNBTS) is asking donors to ‘Give Before You Go’. Healthcare professionals may wish to advise patients who are blood donors to make time to donate before they travel. SNBTS would particularly like to encourage young people to become blood donors; this is permitted from age 17 years.
Information on blood donation in the UK and Northern Ireland is available from:
Scotland: www.scotblood.co.uk/
England & North Wales: www.blood.co.uk/
Northern Ireland: www.nibts.org/
Wales: www.welsh-blood.org.uk/
