Fantastic response to BBC Casualty’s Christmas special on blood donation

The NHS has hailed a fantastic response to the BBC Casualty Christmas special which saw a huge uplift in bookings.

Across England alone, 5,000 new donors registered and 10,000 extra appointments were booked over the weekend after the Christmas special of Casualty aired on Saturday 21 December. 1,200 of these appointments were booked in the hour immediately after the episode aired.

While delighted with this public response, NHS Blood and Transplant, is keen to emphasise that in England alone, we need 5,000 donations *every day* to ensure patients and hospitals have the blood they need, so we urge people to keep up the momentum and keep coming forward to fill appointments in the coming weeks and months.

Right now, there is still a particularly urgent need to boost stocks of O negative and B negative blood, as well as to bring in more donors of Black heritage.

There are plenty of appointments available in the coming days and weeks – particularly in the 27 town and city centre donor centres – and we run sessions every day except Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. There is still time for people to book to donate on key days like Christmas Eve, Boxing Day or New Year’s Eve!

Our colleagues – including our collection, processing and transport teams – work around the clock over the Christmas period, and throughout the year to ensure blood gets to where it needs to be 24/7, 365 days a year.

If you missed the episode and want to watch it you can catch up on the BBC website.

The NHS has hailed a fantastic response to the BBC Casualty Christmas special which saw a huge uplift in bookings. Across England alone, 5,000 new donors registered and 10,000 extra appointments were booked over the weekend after the Christmas special of Casualty aired on Saturday 21 December. 1,200 of these appointments were booked in the…