More men needed to donate blood in Lambeth

More male blood donors are needed in Lambeth, with women donors outnumbering them two to one.

During 2019, only 35 per cent of the new donors in Lambeth were men. Until the end of November, 789 women from Lambeth started donating blood, compared to 453 men. The imbalance reflects a national trend.

This is a concern because men have higher iron levels, and only men’s blood can be used for some transfusions and products. Without more men starting to give blood, blood stocks will come under increasing pressure in future years.

Throughout January, NHS Blood and Transplant is running a national campaign about ordinary men becoming extraordinary by donating blood, and Lambeth is one of the target areas for new male donors. NHSBT is aiming for 48 per cent of all new donors in Lambeth to be male during 2020.

Men are valuable donors for two reasons. Firstly, they have higher iron levels. Each time they try and donate, they’re less likely to be deferred for low haemoglobin levels. That helps maintain a strong donor base, which is particularly crucial for people who need hundreds of even thousands of transfusions over their lifetime.

Secondly, women can produce antibodies during pregnancy, even during short pregnancies they don’t even know about. Antibodies are part of the body’s defence system and they make transfusions more difficult.

This means men’s blood is only used for some specialist transfusions and blood products. Only men’s blood is used for complete blood transfusions in newborn babies, and also for plasma, which is used for people who have had massive blood loss. NHSBT also gets 93 per cent of its platelets from male donors – they are mostly given to cancer patients to cut internal bleeding.

Become a blood donor here.